


Anxiety

by SunnyGirl202



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: F/M, Hostage situation turned romance, Moving some old stories from FF, Set in the original game, you get it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2019-12-30 16:49:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18319346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunnyGirl202/pseuds/SunnyGirl202
Summary: In an effort to prove his loyalty to his father after a botched assassination attempt, Rufus Shinra comes across an opportunity to prove his worth by way of a stranger caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I originally posted this on FF.net. Hoping you enjoy it here.

The helicopter came into view from a distance as it broke through the clouds. The Shinra logo emblazoned on its side as if to show the world to fear its presence and those riding in its interior. Rufus looked out of the window as the haze over Midgar became thicker with only the city's brightest lights penetrating its barrier to the early evening sky. Rufus turned away almost in disgust. In truth a change of scenery was nice, even if the atmosphere of Junon was considerably more favorable.

As the helicopter neared the plate, Rufus prepped himself for landing as he watched the ground crew scrambled below to prepare for their arrival. The helicopter landed smoothly and Rufus almost immediately unbuckled his seatbelt and went toward the door, waiting for a crew member to open it. After a few moments, it finally slid open and Rufus hopped off onto the port, his large feline companion, Dark Nation, followed right next to him.

"Hello son," President Shinra greeted with a cigar dangling from his mouth. "Glad to see you've made it in time for dinner." He turned toward the animal as it sat on the ground to Rufus' right. "I see you brought that animal with you."

"She likes flying," Rufus responded wryly. If his father was going to force him to visit Midgar for a whole week, he can at least make it a nuisance for his cleaning staff, having her stay in his room.

President Shinra took the cigar from his mouth and tapped the ashes off of the edge with his fingers. "Indeed." He looked up behind him to see his two subordinates, dressed in blue blazers, step off of the helicopter as well. He leaned in close to Rufus and hissed, "You brought them too?"

"They also like flying." He smirked.

"Don't test me, boy."

"They are here to protect me, not harm you. Though I suppose the two aren't mutually exclusive." Rufus bit his tongue at the last word, hoping to pass it off as a joke after the fact.

President Shinra tilted his head back and narrowed his eyes. "Come inside," he managed to bite out. He turned around and was followed by his two body guards. Rufus followed suit, but not before turning to his own protection and gesturing them to follow with a quick nod of his head.

Once inside the building, the group of six rode the elevator down to the president's floor. The four bodyguards stood behind the executives in silence while President Shinra briefed his son about the night's events. "It's a simple press excursion. You know the drill. Shake a few hands, take a few pictures, maybe go on a couple of dates with some high profile debutantes."

Rufus grimaced. He was fully prepared to go to the small executive dinner that evening and make possibly one or two appearances in the public, but he was hoping his father had cooled a bit from Rufus' previous plans to assassinate him and possibly give him a task to perform to prove his loyalty. "How about instead of chasing skirts, I do some investigative work at the reactors, or get some details of the happenings around here?"

His father suppressed a laugh. "My, my, aren't we eager to cause trouble?"

"No trouble, father, I was just hoping for some actual work is all."

"Don't concern yourself with anything other than putting your signature on company reports."

Rufus pursed his lips, trying hard to hide his frustration. The Turks incident happened over 5 years ago now, when he was just a dumb 20 year-old kid. He'd matured since then, hoping to undo the damage. All he needed was a chance to prove himself. The paperwork he took care of in Junon was only concerned with financial reports for company employees. The reports concerning weapons development or the military said little to nothing of the actual plans in the company. While that was fairly common with financial reports, Rufus suspected that his father intentionally ensured Rufus saw as little as possible.

Rufus was led to his living quarters, untouched since his last visit. His father walked him to the door. "Dinner is in one hour. Don't be late," he said simply.

Rufus entered the apartment and kicked off boots, removed his white coat and let himself cool off a bit in the room. He fixed his hair and called for the help to put away his luggage in the usual spots: coats and shirts in the closet, shoes on the rack, sundries in the bathroom and a cautionary loaded pistol under the pillows in the bedroom. The presence of Dark Nation always made the help nervous, and Rufus enjoyed watching them squirm as they fumbled through their tasks while Dark Nation curiously sniffed at them, knowing she could tear their throats out at the simplest command. Her presence made them so nervous that they simply left the pistol on the glass cabinetry near the bedroom door, fearing entering the bedroom would set the feline off. It didn't matter to Rufus, with his shotgun on his person at all times, it was not necessary.

When an hour had passed, Rufus toyed with the idea of arriving late just to annoy his old man, but he knew that if he wanted to earn some degree of trust back from him, arriving on time would be a good start, especially with the slip of the tongue he had when he first arrived. Rufus patted Dark Nation on the head and headed down the elevator with his two Turks escorting him. "This dinner is for executives only, so be on the lookout on the outside for any trouble." The red headed man and the blonde woman nodded back at him in understanding.

Rufus took his seat to the immediate left of his father at the head table. He could feel Heidegger's, the head of Public Safety (which was really the military), burning gaze on him as he sat down. Normally the spot to the President's left was his, but he was forced to move down when Rufus was in town. Despite the animosity, he still greeted Rufus with reasonable courtesy as he took his seat next to the young vice president. Across from Rufus sat Scarlet, the head of the Weapons Division. Despite her aging face and body, she still insisted on dressing in a provocative red dress and heels. Rufus couldn't help but compare both to a melting candle. Further down the table were Reeve Tuesti, Palmer and other Shinra executives Rufus couldn't bother to remember the names of.

With a sigh, Rufus pulled himself near the table as the multi-course dinner was being served. The guests began to talk idly of various mundane things such as tabloid headlines. Rufus hoped to extract some information of the happenings of the company in the Midgar region from the executives sitting near him. Even on the phone he was only allowed to speak to his father, who only told him of his assignments. "So what's new, Scarlet? Any new weapons ready for demonstration?" he asked.

"Kyah ha ha!" She cackled. "As if you need to ask. There's always something to show off around here."

"Any chance I can look in on one of these demonstrations while I'm in town this week?"

"Of course, Mr. Vice President. I'd be happy to arrange a-"

"Rufus is far too busy this week for any sort of demonstration," his father interrupted. "Perhaps next time he's in town."

"Sir, certainly he can make time to see our latest developments."

The president shot a glare at Scarlet. "He's too busy this week," he enunciated every word. "Maybe next time."

Scarlet smiled and nodded in agreement. "Perhaps your father's right. Your next visit we will be better prepared anyway."

"Damn," Rufus thought. He was hoping to gain some insight on the newest weaponry to see how it can effectively be used. After a few moments, Rufus looked toward Reeve who sat on Scarlet's right. The head of the Urban Development was visibly disgusted by Scarlet's presence as much as he was, but put on an air of dignity nonetheless, as he always did. "Good evening, Reeve," he said.

Reeve smiled warmly and nodded back at Rufus. "Good evening, Mr. Vice President. I trust your trip here was safe and uneventful."

"It certainly was. How are things going with the reactors? Going well I presume?"

"All is going well. Thank you for asking."

"No, thank you. If you have time this week, maybe I can take a tour with you to one of them? It would be nice to see how our company's bread and butter is faring." If Rufus could be with Reeve alone, he could ask him if there were any building plans in the works at least.

Reeve opened his mouth to respond, but President Shinra spoke before he Reeve could. "A tour of a reactor is far too dangerous for you, son. Besides, Reeve is very busy this week and must depart on a trip to Junon later in a couple of days."

"I'm afraid so, Mr. Vice President. The reactors can be very volatile. In fact I am to investigate one of our own in Junon as your father mentioned."

The third course of the meal was served just then. As the plates were placed in front of them, Rufus turned to Heidegger on his right. "Heidegger, how do the citizens fare at this time?" he asked.

"Not so well, sir," Heidegger responded, visibly annoyed that he had to address his seat usurper in such a way. "The public is growing uneasy over the recent AVALANCHE attacks lately."

"AVALANCHE?" Rufus was caught off guard by the mention of the name. He had thought they disbanded 5 years ago. "Where have they been attacking?"

"Now's not the time to discuss business!" President Shinra bellowed, doing little to hide his growing distaste. Heidegger was silenced immediately and Rufus shot a glare at his father. He was purposefully trying to keep information from getting to him, he was sure of it now. "How irritating, the bastard!" he thought.

During the rest of dinner, Rufus sat in silence, not wanting to speak anymore, knowing he would get no more information from them this night. No wonder his dad wanted him to chase women, he wanted him out of the way so he can his precious press week without much interference. As soon as the last course was served, Rufus wiped his mouth and moved to stand up, with as much grace and restraint as he could muster. "That was a lovely dinner, all of you," he said. "I shall retire to my quarters now."

President Shinra stood alongside him. "You will do no such thing," he said forcefully. He paused and looked down at the stunned faces of his executives. His tone calmed. "You must come out for a walk with us and see our new gardens we had installed for the executives to relax."

Rufus sighed and rolled his eyes. While storming off was certainly an option, he still held his original goal of appeasing his father, to a certain extent, in mind. "I'd love to," responded Rufus, forcing a smile. "I'll have Reno send Dark Nation down, I'm sure she'd love the scenery."

His father grimaced, but consented to a nod. "We'll meet you outside," he growled.

The evening haze of the night calmed Rufus a bit. The smog over Midgar carried the light from the sunset all the way across the sky, giving it a bright orange hue. Dark Nation walked alongside Rufus while he walked behind his father and his brown-nosing executives. He shoved his hands in his pockets, scornfully. He had tried several times to get in on the conversation, but all they spoke of were major events in Junon, things he already knew about, and they refused to let Rufus steer the conversation anywhere else.

Throughout this evening walk, Rufus eyed the new plants and trees. The landscaping team certainly did a good job. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear he was in an actual park, not the roof of a large building. The garden spanned several square feet, larger than most parks, and sported numerous trees and bushes, broken only by the paved paths leading throughout.

"What about you, sir?" asked Heidegger, turning around to face Rufus behind him. "When are you going to start thinking about having children and producing an heir?" he mocked.

"Yes, son," his father said. "You're not getting any younger." He laughed.

Rufus clenched his jaw. Instances where his father brought up Rufus' plans for marriage and parenthood were few and far between, but always in the company of others. He seriously wondered how serious he was about it. While he pushed for dates and outings with women, he never really mentioned children when the two were alone. He sighed at the question. "Just waiting for the right woman I guess," he shrugged. "I'm going to take Dark Nation over for walk over there." He pointed in a direction away from the group. "I'll catch up later."

Before Rufus could turn foot, a security guard came rushing toward the group of executives. "Everyone, we've had reports that members of AVALANCHE have been found on the premises!" Amid the slight gasps from the lesser executives, the guard continued, "Come, we shall escort everyone to safety."

President Shinra laughed. "If you're competent at your jobs, that rag tag group of degenerates shouldn't even make it all the way up here! Now go do your job, sir. Tell my son's bodyguards to help as well." He flicked ashes off of the tip of his cigar.

The security guard's mouth gaped, trying to find the right words. When he couldn't, he just hesitantly nodded. Rufus took the man's pathetic display as a distraction to continue his endeavor to wander off, thankful that his Turks may see some action. He only needed to walk a few moments until he didn't hear the dull patter of the group gossip about nonsense things. This was the gathering of the most powerful people on the entire planet. They should be discussing important matters, such as their latest developments in keeping the public in check or the resurgence of AVALANCHE. It was frustrating to him that they only cared to talk about useless things in his presence. And to top it all off, as a testament to his father's arrogance, the very building could be under attack by blood thirsty terrorists and he merely shrugged it off. Dark Nation brushed his leg, as if sensing his anger. He calmed down once again.

Rufus came to a large clearing and stood in the center on the pavement, admiring how the setting sun painted everything in his line of sight in a deep orange color. While the garden was a waste of money in his eyes, it did make for a nice view in that moment. He let the tips of his fingers brush the top of Dark Nation's head, feeling her arch into his touch. He continued his motions until she stiffened and looked off into the direction of a bush.

Rufus felt her movement and looked down at her. She bore her eyes into the still bushes, planted between two trees. Rufus focused his eyes, trying to adjust to the strange lighting the setting sun was providing. He thought he could make out the slightest make of white in there. But why would there be white in the bushes. It didn't take long for it to click for Rufus. His father was wrong. It seems someone was able to make it near the top floor.

"Rufus, are you coming inside to join us for tea?" his father called from far out in the distance. Dark Nation's movement shifted ever so slightly, as if she was preparing to jump.

"Not just yet, father!" Rufus called back. "Dark Nation likes it out here. I'll be inside in a few minutes!"

His father didn't respond, and Rufus took that as a sign that everyone had gone inside, leaving him by himself in the garden. He looked down to Dark Nation again, who was moving cautiously toward the bush. Rufus absentmindedly walked in the direction of the bush, but kept his gaze elsewhere. He walked around the other side of the feline and watched Dark Nation relax. He took his cue and reached his hand in the bush, felt his grasp tighten around a small arm, and yanked out the startled inhabitant onto the pavement.

"Eek!" she screamed.

To say Rufus was stunned would be an understatement. The previous dealings he had with AVALANCHE members led him to believe their members consisted of wimpy scientists and misguided teenagers. But she was neither of those things. Misguided, possibly, but she was clearly not a teenager, though she was rather young. "Well, well, well, what have we here?" he said as he withdrew his shotgun from his coat and pointed it at her. She was about to open her mouth to shout, but Rufus pushed the barrel closer to her face, causing her to fall back onto her bottom, using the heels of her palms to balance. Her red eyes widened and she closed her mouth.

Looking at this girl, Rufus saw how scantily dressed she was. She was wearing a white midriff top that could barely contain her large breasts and a tight black skirt held up by suspenders. Not exactly practical, but Rufus didn't expect from an AVALANCHE member, even if they were able to pull off the impossible task of reaching the one of top floors undetected until now. He would want to know what his father had to say when he turned her over to him and security. Rufus pondered for a moment, "How did she manage to get up here? Would she divulge that kind of information to me?" If he simply handed her over now, he'd never hear another word about AVALANCHE again unless he somehow caught another living member himself or heard useless news of it in the media. If he could someone extract something from her, he would be able to prove himself a loyal member to the company once again, regain his father's trust. Then he could set about eliminating him once more in a more sophisticated manner.

But he was getting ahead of himself. He looked at girl once again and spoke, "Get up. You're coming with me." He paused for a moment as he eased up on the barrel pointing at her. "Don't do something foolish."

The girl turned over until she was on all four and pushed herself up from the ground. Then she sat there on her back heel, still kneeling down and not moving. Puzzled, Rufus moved to grab her by the shoulder and force her up, but was stunned by a back kick that knocked the shotgun out of his hands and sent it flying several feet away. The momentum she used spun her around and she shoved Rufus to the ground, leaping over him and darting off.

The woman didn't make it far until Dark Nation pursued her and knocked her down midstride. She again got onto her back and looked up at the menacing animal growing at her, baring her teeth. For a decent fighter, she wasn't very bright, Rufus mused. Did she not see the animal ready to pounce on her when she tried to hide in the bushes? Rufus casually stood up and brushed himself off. He retrieved his shotgun and walked over to the subdued brunette who was visibly terrified by the feline.

"That was something foolish," he said, once again pointing the gun at her. She didn't avert her gaze from the feline. "Try something like that again and I'll have her tear your throat out, understand?" The woman swallowed hard and nodded. "Down girl." Instantly Dark Nation eased up as Rufus went behind her, pointing the shotgun to the back of her head. "Now let's try this again. Get up." This time she got to her feet quickly, keeping her back to him. "Hands behind your head."

The woman did as she was told. Rufus nudged at her back with the barrel. He wanted to move quickly lest she have some friends also hiding amongst the foliage. "Walk." The two worked their way through the garden as the light began to fade and the automatic lights started to turn on, illuminating the way before them. Rufus was familiar with the grounds before the garden was installed, so he made special care not to go through the main doors which would just lead to his father's pathetic tea party. He took her to a door on the far corner that led to the back stairwell. There he could have a direct path to his apartment with little chance of being detected. With security personnel likely scrambled at the lower parts of the building, he was sure of it.

The two walked up the stairs in the stifling heat of the back stairwell. Rufus was so used to taking the air conditioned elevators in the building, he forgot how unbearable stairs were. Luckily they only needed to scale seven flights before they made it to the main hallway of his living quarters. He opened the door quietly and peered around the corner to see two guards near his door. He held the gun to the woman's head, hidden from their view, and moved half of his body in their sight. "Guards! Security needs assistance downstairs! There's a terrorist group about! Go!" He shouted.

The two bumbling men nodded and ran in the other direction. When he heard the elevator 'ding' from the other side of the hallway in the distance, he yanked his captive from around the corner and quickly dragged her inside. He locked the door behind them as soon as Dark Nation followed. The feline ran off into the other room, probably to eat out of her bowl. The lights were turned on, illuminating the pristine apartment decorated all in white. He saw the woman look around at her surroundings. To him, there wasn't much to take in, as he was used to this place. But this girl was a commoner; she probably had never seen a living space that had a separate room for the lounge and the bedroom, let alone multiple rooms in one home.

Rufus let his shotgun arm fall when he tired of holding it up. He took to adjusting his collar from the small amount of sweat that gathered there but was caught off guard when the girl, once again, was able to knock the shotgun out of his hands and tried to leap for the pistol on the cabinetry a few yards away. Rufus didn't have to think about how effective that one firearm could be in her hands. He didn't bother retrieving the shotgun and instead dove at her legs, knocking both of them to the ground on their stomachs. Rufus held her legs in his arms tightly as she desperately tried to kick herself free while trying to claw herself forward toward the pistol with her arms at the same time.

Amidst the struggle, Rufus managed to move himself up her legs until he was able to put his arms around her torso and move his body weight on top of her, pinning her down. He grabbed at her flailing arms and held them both in his hands, keeping her still, finally. Both thoroughly exhausted, the two lay there, catching their breaths. When Rufus finally mustered the strength, in one smooth motion he moved himself from atop her, flipped the girl on her back and pinned each wrist to the sides of her head. He noted Dark Nation's absence this time around, who was probably taking a nap. "The dumb feline."

She looked away from, her large chest heaving up and down as she still tried to regain her breath from the skirmish. Her insolence was infuriating Rufus. Normally he would only have to say a simply command to get compliance. But she fought him almost every step of the way. "You're testing my patience. You will not try anymore foolishness and do as I say so no more harm will come to you. Or perhaps you'd like to be turned over to my father and his guards? The second you leave this room security will be on you. I'm sure they'd love torturing you for every shred of information you have on AVALANCHE, then indulging in your body one by one until they send you back to your friends piece by piece. Is that what you want?"

She didn't answer; she still breathed heavily and held her head to the side, eyes closed. Rufus roughly moved both hands above her head and held them both with his left hand and used his right to grab her face, turning it to face him. "Look at me!" His fingers sank into the soft skin of her cheeks as she slowly opened her red eyes. "Will you comply now?" There was an absolute silence in the air until she slowly moved her head up and down against the white carpet. "Good." Rufus bit out. He lifted his hands off of her cheek, small cream colored lines showed amidst her red cheek where his fingers had been. He grabbed her face more roughly than he thought. He reached up to grab the pistol and held it to her head.

He stood up and yanked her off the ground. "Turn around," he said. She did so, putting her back to him. He led her into the bedroom and gestured toward the bathroom door. "Undress and take a shower. You smell like a slum dweller." She looked back at him and shot him an angry look. It was the first time she showed her true fury for him. It wasn't that he had attacked her, held a gun to her head, and threatened her, no. It was simple words that set her off. He was amused to say the least.

The woman stepped forward toward the bathroom, about to shut the door behind her. Rufus kicked it completely open before it could close completely, startling her by the sudden crash. "Nice try…." Rufus' inflection rose. "What's your name? If you don't tell me I can just call you slum scum, if you prefer."

The woman huffed. "My name is Tifa," she finally spoke.

Rufus grinned, knowing he found a sore spot. "Very good Miss Tifa. Now get undressed."


	2. Chapter 2

"Now get undressed," Rufus said, pistol still cocked in his hand.

Tifa started to tremble slightly. She turned her back to him, her messy hair splayed behind her from the earlier scuffle. "Do you have to watch?"

"Yes," Rufus said simply. "You've already tried to escape me twice. I won't allow it to happen again."

"I promise I won't try to get away. Please just let me shut the door." Tifa looked behind her shoulder, her back still to him.

Rufus shook his head. "Not a chance," he replied sternly. Tifa faced away from him again, kicking off her shoes and removing the gear on her arms, tossing them near the discarded shoes. Then she slowly began lowering down her suspenders. They dangled on either side of her while she crossed her arms in front of her to grasp the bottom of her shirt and slowly began to lift it. Rufus tapped his foot and tilted his head, impatient at her deliberately sluggish pace.

Slowly she inched it over her head, her knees and elbows shaking. Finally she had it lifted over her head, the back of her white bra visible to Rufus' eyes. Tifa took the shirt in front of her and began to fold it. Rufus used his free hand to hit door frame as he shouted, "Quit stalling!" Tifa jumped and looked back behind her. "I don't have all night!"

Tifa took a deep breath and turned away from him again, hooking her thumbs into the waistband of her skirt, and pulled them down, this time at a faster pace. Her white panties matched her white top, he noticed. Rufus took a moment to look at the almost naked female before him. Even if she was from the slums, with a body like that she could live comfortably enough in Don Corneo's mansion in Sector 6. Having paid several trips to the degenerate, Rufus knew the man's type: short in stature, large breasts and sizable bottoms. Tifa had all of those things, and he knew many of colleagues that would pay top dollar to have a night with her. Enough so that she could live off it for a year.

But Rufus had other plans for her. He watched as the terrified woman unhooked her bra but still held it up to her chest, not wanting to be completely exposed. Rufus threw his head back in frustration, yanking a nearby towel off of the nearby rack. He tossed it at her. "For Gaia's sake! Just put this on and get in!"

Tifa quickly unfolded the white towel and wrapped it around herself, taking off the rest of her undergarments underneath its protection. She drew back the curtains of the shower and stepped in. Once she started the hot top, Rufus finally put his arm down. "I'll be waiting right here."

Once he heard Tifa begin to shower, Rufus gathered up her garments and felt the rough material. "Slum dwellers actually wear this garbage?" he thought. He tossed the dirty clothes under his bed and stalked toward his closet, taking out any firearms that could be hidden inside as well as one of his white button up shirts and a couple of belts. He put the two spare loaded pistols into his safe and then went to his dresser, pulling out a pair of spare boxer shorts. He then walked back into the bathroom in his original spot, Tifa likely unaware that he even left. The steam of the hot shower filled the space. Rufus mused that she probably hadn't had a hot shower for a long time, judging by how hot the water must be.

He began to prepare the belts when he heard the water shut off. After a few moments of Tifa drying herself off with a towel, she drew back the curtain and stepped out with the towel wrapped about her. Rufus saw the heated water made the small scratches on her shoulders and arms more visible. Her face looked flushed and fresh while her dark wet hair fell flat and clung to her neck and face. She looked at the area of the floor where her clothing sat before. She looked at Rufus questioningly, but he merely answered her gaze by tossing his white shirt and boxer shorts at her, and then resumed to hold his pistol toward her. "A shower would be useless if you're just going to get dressed in dirty clothes again." She dangled the boxer shorts on her right index finger, her face contorted in dissatisfaction. Rufus smirked. "Don't give me that look, when are you going to get another chance to wear couture clothing?"

Tifa huffed again and began to put on the boxer shorts and then the white shirt. With her body covered all the way down her arms to the middle of her thighs, she turned around and threw the towel on the floor and finished buttoning up the shirt, the top buttons slightly open as it strained around her large chest. Rufus scoffed. "Were you raised in a barn? Hang up the towel."

Tifa pursed her lips and shot him a glare. She lifted the towel and stamped her foot and put her free hand on her hip. "Weren't you raised in high society? Can't you just get your maids to pick it up?"

Her pose and angry face made Rufus want to laugh. "The little low-life is mad. How adorable," he thought. "Of course I can," he grinned but narrowed his eyes menacingly. "But you are not high society. And you will pick up after yourself when you are here." Tifa stiffened, obviously resigning herself to the fact that she was safer in Rufus' captivity than the rest of Shinra. She did as she was told as Rufus placed the pistol in his coat pocket.

Once Tifa put the wet towel on the rack, Rufus came up behind her and took her right wrist in his left hand and spun her around. Tifa was stunned as he took hold of her other wrist and bound them both in the prepared belt. He put his finger through the loop in the space between the leather and her wrists to test its tightness. "Is this really necessary?" she asked.

"I don't answer your questions," he replied without looking at her.

Tifa looked to the side and mumbled, "You answered the question about the towel."

He pulled on the wrist causing her to lose her balance and almost fall into him. "What was that?" he snapped and glared down at her.

She looked up at him. "Nothing."

He spun her around and gently nudged her. "Now walk." He led her back into the main sitting room and to his opened closet. The break away from the warm air of the bathroom caused Tifa to breathe sharply in the newfound cold. He flicked on the closet light and kicked a few shoes off of his shoe rack that was screwed into the wall. "Get on the floor." Red color rose to Tifa's cheeks in a furious blush. She started to tremble again and held her legs tightly together. Rufus rolled his eyes. "Unless you want to stand all night."

Tifa hesitantly got onto the floor. Rufus took her bound wrists put them near the empty bar on the bottom of the shoe rack. He took the second belt and tied it into the loop of the first belt and then bound it to the rack. "What are you going to do to me?" Tifa asked, the fear evident in her scarlet eyes.

"Once again, I don't answer your questions," he said. "You will be kept here under my guard and follow my instructions. You do so, everyone wins. If you don't," Rufus tightened the second belt until its grip became almost painful on Tifa's wrist, "it will be a bad day for you." In this position, Tifa could at least lie down and rest her head on her arms, but she would be confined to the floor. It wouldn't be very uncomfortable, but she could manage. She wiggled her wrist as if testing their tightness. Her hands were not turning purple, a sign that circulation was running freely.

Rufus leaned back and looked at his captive to ensure there was nothing around her she could use to escape. The dangling shirts on the hangers would be useless as would be the shoes. He looked back at her shaking form, the chill in the air causing her nipples to get hard as they taunted him through the thin fabric of the shirt. He could feel his lower regions stir. He looked away, hoping she didn't catch on that he was staring at her chest. "Why don't you take a picture?" she asked wryly.

He shot a glare back at her. "That's enough of that insolent attitude of yours!" Rufus stood up and looked down at her, his fists clenched at either side of him. She looked different now. She was irritated, her brows were furrowed and her eyes gleamed with anger. She was aggravated. She was defiant.

"Well excuse me, Mr. Big Shot. Being kidnapped tends to put a damper on one's manners!" she spoke with a new ferocity.

Rufus reeled his head back. "The wench!" he thought. "Kidnapped?" he said incredulously. He didn't know whether to laugh or give her a good slap for her cheeky comment. He got down on one knee to meet her eye level. "This isn't a kidnap," he pointed his finger back and forth from her to himself. "You trespass on my company's property, you are affiliated with a hostile terrorist organization and you attacked the Vice President of the Shinra Company, twice. And now that you have been disarmed, you are currently being detained for your crimes!"

Tifa was stunned into silence as she looked away shyly, the guilt written clearly on her face. "You don't understand," she said. "Hurting you wasn't even part of our plan."

"Well then what was your plan?" he asked, if he could get her talking, he could get some useful information to bring back to his father. "To kill my father?" Tifa didn't answer. She pursed her lips together. Rufus took her chin in his thumb and forefinger, and gently made her face him. "Or were you trying to steal something? Documents? Reports?" his voice went hauntingly quiet and he could see the fear in Tifa's eyes once again. "Yes," Rufus thought. "That's what I like to see." Still, she didn't respond. "You better start talking soon, or I'll have to-" his sentence was cut short at the sound of her stomach growling.

Tifa grimaced. "How long had it been since she'd last eaten?" he thought. "I feel dizzy," she said weakly. "And I'm cold." She shook again but not from fear or cold, but from holding back tears. She looked utterly pathetic and unwilling to speak further. Wet hair splayed on her back and dampened the fabric of his expensive shirt. He almost felt sorry for her.

Rufus took a deep breath. Though she wasn't close to death, he knew how an empty stomach could keep one from concentrating. He certainly didn't want her answers to be marred with malnutrition. Suddenly, there was a muffled knock on the main bedroom door of the apartment. "Yo boss! You in there?" his red-headed Turk's muffled voice came through.

Rufus looked back at Tifa. "He's on my father's payroll too," he lied. "If he finds out you're here, he'll turn you over to head of public safety and I won't be able to stop him. So you just keep that bratty mouth of yours shut. You're in my world now." He turned and closed the closet door behind him. While Reno would certainly not tell anyone of Tifa's presence if he was ordered not to, he didn't want to complicate things by bringing in more people. "Come in, Reno."

The sloppily dressed Turk entered, his night stick in his hand, resting on his shoulder. His face was slightly bruised. "I see you didn't run into any trouble," he said. "I was worried when you didn't pick up your PHS."

"Wish I could say the same for you," said Rufus.

"Oh this is nothing, you should see the other guy."

"Were any of them captured?"

Reno sighed. "No unfortunately. The lower level guards were toppled easily and I was outnumbered. I tried chasing them on foot but they fled in a van."

"Did you get a good look at any of them?"

"Yes, there's a large black man with a gun for an arm and what is believed to be a member of SOLDIER."

"Have we confirmed them to be AVALANCHE members?"

"Just about. So far there are no reports of any bombs being planted around on the premises or injuries to any employees save for security." Reno pointed at the fresh bruise to his left cheek for emphasis.

"Very good. I want you and Elena to report to me in the morning."

"Sure thing, boss, though that's not why I'm here." Rufus tilted his chin and raised his eyebrows, inviting Reno to continue speaking. "Well your father is asking why you haven't come back for tea."

Rufus closed his eyes and threw his head back in frustration. In the whole episode with Tifa he completely forgot about the whole after dinner tea gathering. "Shit," he hissed. "Is he still there now?"

"Yeah, though the party's dwindling down."

"Then there's not really any point in me going." Rufus was frustrated. Usually after dinner his father would be intoxicated enough to not notice Rufus leave. If he was there now, he probably wouldn't notice him speaking to the other executives about business. But it didn't bother him as much as it could have. He now had something to work with in that AVALANCHE member. He just needed to get her to talk, somehow. Though he couldn't go about torturing her, that wasn't his style, doubly so if she started screaming she'd draw attention and then be taken away most likely. No, Rufus would have to try something else. Maybe start at least by making her a bit more comfortable, she was shivering when he saw her last. "Reno, listen to me. I have an assignment for you tonight."

Reno cringed. "Oh come on boss, I've had a rough night."

"You and me both!" he snapped, not in the mood to deal with another impudent attitude. Reno stiffened and assumed a serious stance at the boss' sudden outburst. "I need you log into our security mainframe and get me every file you have on AVALANCHE and its members for the past two years. Have them here by nine tomorrow morning and bring Elena with you too."

Reno nodded. "I'm on it, boss."

"Good. You're dismissed." Reno turned to leave but Rufus called to him. "Wait a moment. I'm a bit hungry. Can you go down to the kitchen and bring me something that's already made?"

"You're still hungry after that large dinner?"

"I don't answer your questions either."

"Either? What?"

Rufus shook his head. "I mean bring up a spare blanket too. It's cold. And a pillow."

Reno arched an eyebrow. To him it was clear that his boss was either intoxicated or had his mind warped from sleep deprivation. "Whatever you say, boss." Reno turned and left.

After Reno left, Rufus saw Dark Nation emerge from the other room. She yawned and stretched and then padded her way over to her master. "How nice of you to join me," he said wryly. The feline purred and rubbed up against his leg. "Thanks for your help back there." Rufus found himself staring in the direction of the closet door. "The dumb girl," he thought. "She's in way over her head."

Rufus took the time to undress himself and get dressed in a robe. The shed layers made him feel infinitely lighter. For the rest of the night he didn't need to keep up appearances or fake smiles. He could just be…free. He pulled out his PHS and sent a message to his father that he was too rattled by the threat of attacks to join him for tea. It would likely earn him condescending insults from his father the next day, but he at least wouldn't have to explain himself further.

He stalked over to his liquor cabinet and poured himself a small glass of scotch. He began to pace back and forth, almost expecting to hear some sort of noise come from behind the closet door, but it didn't. He chewed his lip and sat down on the couch, inadvertently staring at the closet door. The silence rang in his ears. Reno's sharp knock startled Rufus, causing him to jump. He exhaled sharply and downed the rest of the scotch. "Come in!" he called.

Rufus stood up and turned to find Reno enter. He had the blanket draped over his shoulder and held the pillow and a sandwich wrapped in cellophane in either hand. Rufus smirked at the thought of an elite Shinra employee fetching him a pillow and food. But he was his employee and he needed him to be sharp for his mission. "Thank you Reno. I'll be sure to remember this when signing your bonus check."

Reno perked up and nodded swiftly while handing over his items. "Thanks boss. Is there anything else you need?"

"No you're dismissed. See you in the morning."

Rufus watched the redhead turn and leave, shutting the door behind him. He looked at the small sandwich distastefully. He couldn't remember the last time he had a sandwich. But he did request something that was already made and judging by how quickly Reno returned to the room, approximately twenty minutes, he had to have literally picked up what was closest to the door. He took his bounty back to the closet. He opened the door and found Tifa burying her face in her forearms. "You did well, Miss Tifa," he said. "I think you've earned yourself a meal and a blanket."

Tifa leaned up and looked at him with tired eyes. Rufus draped the blanket on top of her and placed the pillow beneath her head. It sank into the soft fabric instantly. She closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek to and fro, as if feeling softness for the first time. She opened her eyes again to see Rufus towering over her.

"Lean up," he ordered. Tifa did so, the prospect of food causing her to momentarily forgo her defiance. She held her bound hands to her side and tugged, as if signaling that she needed her hands to take what was being offered. "Not happening."

Tifa pouted but didn't press the issue. Rufus unwrapped the cellophane from the sandwich and held it to her mouth. Tifa took small bites as Rufus held it to her mouth. It was reminiscent of feeding Dark Nation when she was a cub. Small wisps of air as Tifa sucked in loose crumbs touched Rufus' fingers, but she did not lick his fingers the way Dark Nation did. She took her time with her bites, obviously not forgetting some semblance of civility by not devouring the sandwich whole.

"Now listen up because I'm not repeating myself," he explained as she ate. "You are to be detained here indefinitely. You will be kept in here and be allowed to use the bathroom twice a day and shower once a day. I will answer your cooperation with continued courtesy."

Tifa took the last bits of food from him until there was nothing left but the cellophane and a few scattered crumbs. She must have been hungry. Rufus gently tilted her head to his. He leaned in so close to her face, she wrinkled her nose as she smelled the scotch on his breath. "Do you understand?"

Tifa slowly nodded. "Thank you," she said quietly.

Rufus released her and leaned back. "I beg your pardon."

"I said thank you, " she said a bit more loudly. "For the blanket."

Rufus was a bit taken aback. The captive was actually thanking him for something. He didn't answer her. He merely stood up and turned to leave the closet. He tossed the cellophane in the trash and stalked off to his room. He had wanted to question Tifa tonight, but the scotch must have must have clouded his head. Besides, he wasn't prepared to question her and she wasn't prepared to answer. Rufus leaned back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He discarded his robe and curled into the sheets. The early departure from Junon and the subsequent events of the day had tired him. He drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Despite the exhausting excursions of the previous day and the hastily downed liquor, Rufus did not find sleep very easily and did not feel rested by the next morning. The thought of having a prisoner under his watch, and his watch only, made him uneasy. He found himself jolting upright in bed at the slightest sounds made in the night, which were usually just Dark Nation prowling about. Still, on two separate occasions he got up out of bed to check on Tifa, and both times she was asleep on the floor, curled in a blanket, bound to the shoe rack.

It wasn't that he couldn't handle her easily enough, but there was always the constant thought of her being able to escape and ruin his plans. Moreover, she'd be in the most exclusive and inaccessible areas in the entire building, probably the world. There was no limit to the damage she could do if she were to flee from her binds. But as it was, when Rufus arose to get dressed and fix himself into his usual white attire, he opened his closet door to find the sleeping terrorist still on the floor.

"Wake up," Rufus commanded as he gently nudged her with his foot. He saw the raven-haired woman stir and attempt to stretch despite the restraints. He looked at his watch. Reno and Elena were expected in less than half an hour. He had to make sure she was taken care of before they arrived. He took the blanket from her and yanked the pillow from beneath her sleeping head. Her head dropped down to her arms and she jerked her head up to give him a dirty look. Rufus ignored her and kneeled down to remove the belt that bound her to the shoe rack.

He helped Tifa to her feet and led her back to the bathroom, pulling out his loaded pistol once again. "In you go. You have four minutes, any longer I'm dragging you out whether you're finished or not. That goes for every morning break. Understood?" he asked, looking directly in her eyes.

Tifa pursed her lips and nodded. She held up her wrists, still bound in the leather belt. "What about-" she began.

"You can manage," Rufus interrupted. He spun her around and jerked her through the open door of the bathroom. "No closing the door either."

Tifa sighed and turned around. Rufus turned heel and put his hand to his face. His head was throbbing and the small rays of sunlight leaking into the room were not making it better. He hated the headaches that came with a lack of sleep. Just then, his PHS went off. "What is it?" he almost immediately answered, not wanting the incessant ringing to further his head pains.

"Sir," he heard the voice of his father's secretary speak, "your father would like for you to join him for breakfast at nine thirty. Shall I let him know you'll be attending?"

Rufus suppressed a sigh. "Of course," he replied through clenched teeth. "I'll see him then." He clicked the device shut and heard Tifa finishing up her bathroom break. From the corner of his eye, he saw her trying to wash her hands even with the binding leather. He also saw her put extra effort into putting the towel back in its proper place. He wanted to laugh at her newfound obedience and how easy it was to wring it from her.

She came back in through the open door with her head down. Since she hadn't combed her wet hair, it dried awkwardly in the night and splayed in various directions. Rufus eyed the red lines on her face from the pillow and her tired look. "So you do only wear the one suit," she said in her most sardonic tone.

Rufus rolled his eyes. "I see that impudent little mouth of yours likes to keep running," he retorted. "Very well, if you want to use your mouth for spouting uncouth remarks, you won't be using it to eat." Tifa inhaled sharply, but still held a defiant gaze. An uncomfortable silence hung between the two of them as Rufus saw Tifa eye him up and down, as if sizing him up once more for a surprise attack. He cocked the pistol for emphasis, jerking her gaze back to him once again. "Now now, let's not make more trouble for the both of us." He stepped close to her and grabbed her arm, leading her back to the closet.

When he opened the door to let her in, he jerked her around to face him and he undid the belt that bound her wrists together. Before she could react, he jerked her to face the other direction and bound her wrists behind her. "Sit," he said sharply. She did so and Rufus bound her once again to the rack, this time forcing her in a sitting up position.

Tifa drew her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. She didn't say a word, but Rufus saw that she was visibly distraught. "I'll be back later, Miss Tifa," he said mockingly. "I'll be sure to have Dark Nation keep a close watch on this door." With that, Rufus stood up and shut the door behind him. Rufus made a quick call just before his Turks arrived to inform the help they needn't come and clean his room daily, only to feed Dark Nation. Once the arrangements were squared away, Rufus heard his Turks knocking at exactly nine.

"Come in," he called. In entered Elena and Reno, who was holding a moderately sized folder in his hands.

"Yo boss," Reno said.

"Good morning, sir," said Elena, holding a stack of papers. "Your father instructed me to bring up some paperwork for you to sign."

Rufus nodded and tilted his head toward the table where Elena set them down. "I assume you have what I need?" asked Rufus, looking at his redheaded Turk.

"Right, here, sir," he replied. "Sorry if it's a little faded, the toner I used to make copies was low."

Rufus took the folder from Reno. He was a bit disappointed; he had expected it to be a bit thicker than around thirty pages. "Is this all?" he asked as he looked up at Reno.

"You said for the past two years. That's all I could dig up. Seems they're a little more clever this time around. There's limited information we could get."

"All the more reason I need her to talk," Rufus thought as he looked down at the folder. He flipped through various pages and stopped on one with a small picture of large black man. Name: Barret Wallace, Age: 30-38, Location: Unknown, but has been seen to frequent Sector 6's Wall Market, Occupation: Miner, Hometown: Corel, Association with AVALANCHE: Confirmed. He saw Reno's finger come into view to point at it. "That's the guy that attacked me last night. He's only made a couple of appearances thus far."

Rufus frowned and looked at Reno, signaling for him to remain silent. Rufus saw the lengthy paragraph on Wallace's history, detailing previous attempts to capture him, fighting style and his possible paternity of a young a girl. He continued to thumb through the pages, some of them had small photos paper clipped to them when Reno copied them, resulting in a large white line in the shape of a paperclip covering the images. He continued his musings while his Turks just stood there, awaiting their next orders. Then he came across a sheet pertaining to Tifa. He furrowed his brows at the severely limited information they had on her. Name: Tifa Lockhart, Age: 17-24, Location: Sector 7, Occupation: Proprietor of Seventh Heaven, restaurant and bar, Hometown: Unconfirmed, Association with AVALANCHE: Unconfirmed. Rufus wanted to laugh that the fact his father's lackeys in Midgar hadn't even confirmed her affiliation yet.

His eyes drifted to the low quality photograph. It was a candid shot of her while she mixed drinks amongst a crowd of, what he assumed, were drunken working-class patrons. She didn't seem to even notice that someone was photographing her. Probably being the prettiest woman in that hell hole, she was used to it. Rufus recalled the moment when Tifa asked him to just take a picture if he felt the need the stare. Rufus shook his head at the imagery. What did he care what she looked like? His eyes darted down to the brief description of his captive. Tifa Lockhart owns and runs the Seventh Heaven bar in the Sector 7 slums, works seven days a week, including holidays. No family relations known and has not been seen in the company of suspicious characters outside of her profession. Though AVALANCHE members were known to visit her bar frequently before the reactor bombings, she was not known to spend any additional time with them from other patrons. Low risk suspect, further investigation not likely needed.

Rufus snapped the folder shut in frustration. All he saw was proof that Shinra had a decent grasp on the whereabouts of AVALANCHE yet they were still causing trouble. Worse still, they were actually calling off the investigations of one of their own members that he had stowed away in his closet! "Yet another reason why my old man must be gotten rid of," Rufus thought. He looked at his watch. It was time to start heading down.

"Reno, you've done well. You can go about your business today but I want you to remain on call," said Rufus. Reno nodded in response and turned to leave. Rufus looked at Elena. "Elena, come walk with me down to breakfast." She nodded and walked beside him. As the two strode down the hallways, Rufus began to speak to his Turk. "Elena, I have a few questions about our internal operations. What is the most common way to go about questioning suspicious people?"

"Well Reno and Rude would tell you the 'Turks' way would be torture, though I do not find it to be the most reliable."

While Rufus didn't want to result to torture himself, reliability wasn't his reason. "Why do you say that?"

"Well torture does not always yield the proper information. The victim may give conflicting information when under duress, either because they are unable to concentrate or they genuinely don't know. And if they don't know, their minds sometimes fabricate things, which is always detrimental. They also run the risk of injuring the person to the point that they die, then they become useless."

"I see. What else?"

"Tseng himself likes to use psychological means. That involves little physical harm, though it is used regularly in tandem with it in order to instill fear in the victim. While it can be very effective, even after the victim has been questioned, it's very time consuming, and sometimes the victim regresses into a child-like state and they become difficult to reason with or question them afterward."

"So are those the only two methods that we use?"

"Yes sir. Those are the only methods that we use. Though I do recall reading of another method used during my time at the Academy. During the Wutai War, there was a high ranking commander that used to question prisoners of war by isolating them in darkness for several days, maybe even weeks, and then simply took them out for a walk to speak to them. Their natural need for human contact caused them to loosen their tongues and spill a wealth of information without them even realizing it. Luring someone into a false sense of security when they're in that state is incredibly easy. In the end he didn't even need to lay harmful hand on them to get their information and such methods are probably the reasons behind the war's longevity."

This piqued Rufus' interest. "You say it took only a few days on some occasions? Are there certain tells when a person finally breaks?"

"Oh yes. It all depends on the person. Naturally, more introverted people are used to isolation, so they could likely withstand their forced seclusion for long periods of time. But more extroverted people have a much stronger need to speak with and be around others. Those are the ones that tend to break first, especially the overly emotional ones, like women. Their tell usually came in the form of weeping and extreme silence or stillness. It's quite easy to get them to open up when you let them speak long enough. Once you get them talking, they'll start spilling out the darkest secrets."

Rufus smirked. Elena had unwittingly laid down every bit of detail he needed to start questioning the terrorist. Suddenly his headache wasn't feeling so bad anymore. "That's very good research, Elena. I wonder why we don't employ such tactics."

"Well despite its great results, it's risky because it can work both ways. The person being questioned can also lure the questioner into a false sense of comfort as well. It's not likely, since the questioner is more aware of intention, but again, it's quite time consuming, and we are a fast results-driven company."

Rufus nodded as the two came up to the double doors leading to the banquet hall. "That's good work, Elena. I have an assignment for you. I want you and Reno to go to the Sector Seven slums and see if you can find any suspicious activity pertaining to AVALANCHE at a bar called Seventh Heaven. Report back to me once you have gathered enough information."

"Yes, sir," she bowed slightly and opened the door for Rufus. "Have a nice breakfast sir." Rufus was grateful that Elena did her job faithfully and did not question why he inquired about such things and that his vague order was understood by her completely.

Rufus adjusted his collar and entered the hall, seeing his father as he sat alone at the table reading over reports. He took a deep breath, trying to further calm his headache. "Good morning, father," he said as he took a seat beside him.

"Glad you decided to grace us with your presence, son," he said, not looking up from his papers. "When you failed to join us for after dinner tea I had thought you were going to hole yourself up in your apartments this entire time."

"Not a chance. I've many public appearances to make and meetings to get to. Is that now why I'm here?"

Now his father glanced up and grinned menacingly. "Good to know you're not completely clueless." His father eyed him up and down. "You look like garbage. Did you get enough sleep last night? Or did you bring someone up to your room for company instead of having tea?" He turned back to the papers.

Rufus grimaced at the irony and the implications of what he was doing with Tifa. "I'm not like you, old man," Rufus thought. "No, I didn't bring anyone upstairs with me. I was just tired." A server came and brought Rufus his morning coffee and breakfast.

"Well I hope you rested up enough. I want those papers I sent up with your lackey signed before this afternoon, then I want you to go to Sector four for a meeting with the reactor officials. Then I want you to come back her for a dinner meeting."

"Understood. But right now I want to speak with you of something else." Rufus paused, hoping is father would acknowledge his urgency. "I want to talk about AVALANCHE."

His father looked up from the papers once again and threw him a hard gaze. "That's nothing to concern yourself with about them." He lowered his voice. "You've already had your dirty hands in that organization. I don't need you involved in their affairs again."

"This is a different AVALANCHE," he pressed. "What if I told you I can get you some information to eradicate them completely?"

His father chuckled without any humor. "And just how would you be able to do that when you've been in Junon these past five years?"

"You leave that to me. I have my people on it. I'll probably have the information you seek in less than two weeks."

"Two weeks? You're only scheduled to be here to one week."

"I'm aware," Rufus closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, his headache dampening his patience.

"Don't get fresh with me boy. I don't want you stirring up any trouble being here. Besides I already have Don Corneo's and his goons looking into AVALANCHE."

Rufus gripped the handle on his mug tightly. "That fat slob? How can you trust him with such a task?"

"He didn't try to have me killed," his father retorted matter-of-factly.

Rufus sighed. "Let me prove it to you. I'll have the information you need soon. And we'll snuff out those bottom feeders once and for all."

Rufus' father's demeanor softened a bit. "Very well. Let's see what you can scrounge up." Rufus nodded and ate the rest of breakfast in silence. When it came time to excuse himself, he took a plate of fruit and two slices of toast with him. He father didn't seem to notice. He very well couldn't have his hostage dying of starvation and he hadn't yet fed her.

When Rufus made his way back up to his room, he saw Dark Nation lying in front of the window, sitting elegantly. "Hi girl," he said as she went up to greet her master. "Sit." She obeyed and Rufus stalked over to his closet door where his hostage sat. He remembered what Elena said and made it a point to not speak to Tifa, or at the very least use few words.

He opened the closet door quickly, causing Tifa to jump slightly at his presence. Sitting up, she was able to tilt her head back and see Rufus towering over her. He knelt down and held the piece of fruit in front of her face. Understanding she was going to get to eat, Tifa took the small bits of fruit in her mouth without complaint. Rufus wanted to spend a little of time as possible with her, wanting the isolation to grow more quickly since his time in Midgar was limited. He hastily kept feeding the fruit to Tifa, before she had time to completely finish what was in her mouth.

"Slow dow-" she tried to choke out before Rufus shoved the corner of toast into her mouth. Tifa groaned in frustration. Crumbs splayed off her lips as she tried to keep up the pace. She tried to turn her head away in an effort to get him to pause, but he roughly took her face with his free hand and forced her to face him. All the while she, surprisingly, didn't kick at him. Rufus continued to feed her forcefully until it was all gone and he fetched her a glass of water. She drank it quickly and turned her head to wipe her face of the leftover crumbs on the shoulder of his shirt. He purposefully avoided eye contact with her as well. "I'm not an animal, you know!" Rufus didn't reply to her as he shut off the light and closed the door behind him, hearing the slightest bit of protest from Tifa.

His hastily strewn together plan was now put in motion. Thanks to Elena's insight, he was reasonably certain that he could get Tifa to break before long. With Tifa settled in the closet, Rufus went to the stack of papers on his table and began to look them over, signing off on various financial and developmental projects throughout the company. As usual, most details were left intentionally vague for reports pertaining to weapons development and possible military actions to take place. Then something caught his eye just as he finished signing it. AVALANCHE's name appeared on the paper. Complete successful test of Air Buster robot, to be used against possible attack by AVALANCHE on December 12, 0007. Rufus quirked an eyebrow. Did this slip past the person keeping information from him? "December 12…" Rufus thought to himself as he looked at his watch. That was today! He scowled at the fact that he could've gotten this information sooner if he had tortured Tifa immediately, but he couldn't dwell on that now.

Rufus called up for his father's assistant to collect the signed papers and called for a driver to take him to his meeting. He raced downstairs and jumped into the back of the luxury car. "We should reach Sector Four in about thirty minutes," the driver said to him from the front.

"No, there's been a change of plans. Take me to the Sector Five reactor instead," he responded.

"Sir?"

"Don't question me. I'm giving you an order!"

The driver stiffened. "Yes sir. That should take about forty minutes."

Rufus did not respond to the driver. To his delight though, they arrived at the Sector 5 reactor in 38 minutes instead of 40, which gave him a small measure of relief. Before he emerged from the car, he called back to the driver, "Stay here, in case we need to leave in a hurry." Rufus still wanted to make his meeting at Sector 4 after his visit here.

Rufus entered the Reactor near the top where it was usually unoccupied, not wanting to enter through the main entrance and be spotted. He found the usual personnel running the reactor missing, which made it easier for him to have a closer look. He took the stairs to the lower reactor and heard commotion, people yelling and things getting knocked over. Rufus pulled out his shotgun and held it to his side, not taking any chances since he didn't have an escort.

The commotion got louder as Rufus made his way down the stairs and got a view of the entire reactor below from his high vantage. He cautiously made his way down as he saw a small group of people taking out the guards and running to the center of the reactor. "AVALANCHE," Rufus thought. They were here, and Shinra knew! He saw the small ragtag team leave with two trailing behind. He saw Barrett Wallace, the one he recognized from the file, and a man that looked like he belonged in SOLIDER. They were the same folk that Reno had mentioned.

That was all of the confirmation he needed. Since they were trailing behind their group alone, he could possibly take one or both of them out if he caught them unawares. He continued to make his way down until he stopped at the sight of the two being balked by a large group of Shinra soldiers. Rufus paused to have a closer look as he saw none other than his father emerging on the catwalk to greet the two.

"Pres…President Shinra?" Barrett Wallace's confusion was heard plainly to Rufus even that the distance.

"What's he doing here?" Rufus thought.

Rufus listened as his father spoke to the ex-SOLIDER and mocked him for the blue of his eyes from extensive mako exposure. He listened as he heard Wallace shout that the whole place was going to blow up soon and how Shinra is responsible for destroying the planet. Rufus rolled his eyes at the nonsense. "You are beginning to bore me," his father said. "So if you'll excuse me, I have a dinner meeting to attend to. But I have made arrangement for a playmate for you all."

From the opposite end of the catwalk, a robot drove through. "Meet 'Airbuster', a techno-solider. Our Weapon Development Department created him. I'm sure the data he'll extract from your dead bodies will be of great use to us in future experiments." Suddenly, a helicopter emerged from beneath them. "Now then, if you'll excuse me." With that, he saw his father board and fly off. Rufus ducked behind a staircase so as to not be seen. When he disappeared, he saw the two members of AVALANCHE fight the robot.

Remembering the planted explosive Wallace mentioned, Rufus clenched his teeth and decided he would have to fight another day. He ran back upstairs and outside to the driver. "Let's get out of here!" he shouted. "Now!"

The car sped off and made considerable distance. Rufus was about to breathe a sigh of relief until he felt the ground shake beneath the vehicle, causing the driver to lose control and crash into the car in front of them. Rufus fell forward and hit his head on center console. "Sir! Are you alright?" the driver turned behind him.

Rufus exhaled sharply through his nose, cursing himself for not wearing a seatbelt. "I'm fine," he lifted himself up, feeling a small trickle of blood seep down his face. "Let's just get back to HQ. And do not tell my father about this or it'll be the end of you. If he asks, we were on our way to Sector Four when this happened."

Rufus pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead. The entire event was a mess. He thought about the paper with the information on it. His father always made sure his people did not put too much information on his paperwork for him to sign. Did his father intentionally put the Airbuster information on that sheet, knowing Rufus would act on that information? Was he trying to get him there so he could be killed in the explosion? Then his death would look like an accident. No, his father wasn't capable of that, was he? Rufus certainly was capable of that. He drummed his fingers on his leg and pondered it the rest of the way back. His headache from that morning had returned in full force.

When Rufus arrived home later that afternoon with the small cut on his forehead, the Shinra employees immediately assumed the worst. He ignored their questions of his condition and called up his Turks to meet him in the upstairs conference room. Elena and Reno were there before Rufus had even arrived. "Sir! You're okay!" Elena exclaimed.

"Yes, I'm fine," Rufus sighed as he took a seat. "I just fell forward on the center console is all."

"AVALANCHE has officially taken credit for the Sector Five bombing," said Reno.

"Speaking of them, have you two found out anything about Sector Seven?"

Reno and Elena looked at each other. "We were investigating a lead, but the AVALANCHE members were not seen around the premises. Then we heard about the bombing so we returned here. Would you like to hear what we have so far?"

Rufus' head throbbed and he shut his eyes tight. "No, just come back to me when you have enough information for a report."

"Sir, are you alright?"

"No, Elena, I'm not. I wasn't far from the reactor when it blew up and I'm not really in a cheerful mood."

Reno reeled back in surprise. "What were you doing there, boss?"

"I was on my way to a meeting in Sector Four." Rufus rolled his eyes at his use of the lie. He didn't need to keep secrets from his Turks. "Listen, continue your investigations and let my father know I'm not going to the dinner meeting tonight." Rufus lifted himself up from the chair. "I'm going to cut this meeting short. I need to lie down." Elena and Reno nodded in reply.

As he made his way up to his room, Rufus made a call to room service to bring up his dinner. When he was back in his apartment, he pet Dark Nation and then stalked over to his closet door.

Rufus opened the door to the dark closet, once again startling Tifa. She jumped at his presence once again and squinted her ruby eyes at the sudden flood of light. She turned her head slightly, trying to adjust to the new surroundings. Rufus went down and unbound her hands from the rack and freed her wrists from the other belt. Tifa showed her shock at this newfound freedom.

"You're releasing me?" she said hopefully. She saw the small cut on his forehead. "Yikes! What happened to you?"

Rufus ignored her and pushed her toward the bathroom, making sure his loaded shotgun was in his hand and in plain sight. He started the shower and turned the water on to hot. Tifa, thankfully, didn't put up much resistance this time around and undressed from Rufus' clothes and stepped in. "You're awfully quiet," she said softly as she drew the shower curtain shut behind her.

Shortly after, his food arrived, which he hastily ate and left some out for Tifa. Rufus let her shower as he threw his clothes away. He got a fresh shirt and boxer shorts for Tifa. He used this time look over the file Reno had given him earlier. He thumbed through to the last page to find one page about the first class SOLDIER that was spotted on the premises two days earlier. Curiously, Rufus mulled over the information. Name: Cloud Strife, Age: 21, Location: Unknown, Occupation: Mercenary, former employee of Shinra, Hometown: Nibelheim, Association with AVALANCHE: Unconfirmed, but likely. Rufus sneered at the traitorous behavior of the elite ranked employee. The picture they had of him was grainy, but he could make out the spiky blond hair and distinguished uniform. It was definitely the same person he saw at the reactor that day. He, too, had limited information on his profile.

Rufus looked at his watch and decided Tifa had enough time in the shower. Without warning, Rufus put his hand in the shower and turned off the tap, causing Tifa to squeal at his sudden presence. He drew back the curtain and saw her covering her naked form, completely vulnerable and agitated. Rufus threw a towel in her direction and she quickly dried off, picking up on his no-nonsense haste.

Once Tifa got dressed, she was taken back to the closet and Rufus put the food in there with her, not tying her up this time. He took a chair from his dining area and placed it up against the knob, though he didn't hear her try to open up the door. He saw that she turned the light on to eat. No matter. He didn't need to keep her in darkness if it meant he could have less contact with her. Though it also meant he didn't have to tuck her in under the blanket either. Still, this was going to go nicely.

Rufus took some medicine to help counteract his headache and kept replaying the events of the day over and over in his head. Was his father really trying to eliminate him? That would be a stupid move. He didn't have an heir, illegitimate or otherwise. "Heir…" Rufus thought. His father had been bringing up the fact that he hadn't made an heir yet. Maybe he was just tired of waiting. Rufus shook his head. His father wasn't that stupid as to end the Shinra name. He hoped Tifa would talk fast. If he could get a confirmation from her of what AVALANCHE's next move was, he could take credit and maybe get his father off his back. Rufus lay in his bed, tossing and turning, trying to find sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

If Rufus found sleep difficult the night before, this night it was damn near impossible. His thoughts kept racing back and forth about his future plans and the recent events surrounding his situation. Was his father really trying to have him killed? Is that why he pushed so hard for him to go out with socialites? Was he hoping he'd impregnate one so he'd be forced to marry her and carry on the Shinra name? If he was well rested and at ease, he'd think the idea was ridiculous. But the more he dwelled on it, the more plausible it seemed. The fact that he had Tifa holed up in his closet wasn't making his mind rest any better. Still, on a couple of occasions, he found himself woken up from a dream, usually involving him playing an instrument, meaning he was at least sleeping some.

It had only taken two days for Tifa to pick up on the routine. She had stopped trying to speak to him when he refused to answer her no matter what. He would move the chair from the door and find her sleeping on the floor, jerk her up and into the bathroom to take care of her business, then send her back with fresh food. At night, she learned to shower quickly and return to the closet to eat dinner. Each morning, Rufus found her sleeping on the floor, curled under the blanket. Rufus was still careful to step back when he opened the door, pistol or shotgun ready to go, lest she decide to be bold and try to attack him again now that her hands were free. Since Rufus instructed the help to not come up and clean his room every night except to feed and clean Dark Nation, his apartment was beginning to look a bit messy too. His bed would not be made and he kept forgetting to have new towels brought up to his bathroom.

During the day, Rufus tried to distract himself with the daily business, attending the press conferences, notably the one responding to the Sector 5 bombing, his father and signing more paperwork. The initial meeting with his father after the reactor bombing was tense. His father seemed disappointed that he didn't make the meeting at Sector 4 but bought Rufus' excuse that he was too rattled to go after the bombing. This set him on edge even more that he would even bring up Sector 4 in the first place when Rufus' head still held the cut from his injury.

Aside from the monotony of his daily routine, there was still the terrorist to consider. While the time he spent with Tifa was limited, the routine of making sure she was fed and secure in his apartment made him anxious. He patiently waited for her tell to come, but she held on longer than he thought. In the evening on the fourth day, after Tifa was in the closet after her shower, Elena rang him and told him the information she gathered on Seventh Heaven.

"The place it seems has been closed for a few days," the blonde woman's voice came. "Reno and I went around questioning Sector Seven inhabitants and they say that they haven't seen the owner in days. Though we occasionally saw the lights on indoors at night, as if there are people inside anyway."

"Any suspicious characters?"

"We believe we have seen some AVALANCHE members on the premises occasionally, but they don't stay for long. We think they just want to have a drink. They often retreat to the Sector Six Wall Market."

"Very well. Keep investigating them. Don't move to capture them or alert anyone to their presence yet. Just make sure they stay in the slums and don't go to any reactors."

"There's more sir. It's about the other lead we were investigating. It appears the Ancient we've been tailing for the past several years has teamed up with AVALANCHE as well. Tseng has all but confirmed it and Reno found her in the company of one of their members in a Sector Five church."

"I see. Which one?"

"The Ex-SOLDIER."

Rufus nodded. "Keep an eye out on the bar then and await further instruction."

"Yes sir."

Rufus clicked the PHS shut. The sun was setting and he strode over to his liquor cabinet. He let out a long breath. The minimal hours of sleep he was getting at night were beginning to take its toll. Briefly Rufus considered handing Tifa over to the rest of Shinra, but he quickly dismissed the idea. That would only prove to his father that Rufus was nothing without his company. But how long had it been since he was able to sleep through the night? How nice would it be go through an entire work day without a pounding headache? Maybe simply having captured Tifa, a member of AVALANCHE, will be enough. His father would want to see her personally, probably want to have her for a night or two, and then commence his ruthless questioning. Rufus himself probably wouldn't mind a night with her either, but that's not what she was there for. He wasn't like his father, he knew. Besides, since his suspicion of his father trying to kill him grew, he didn't want to do anything to reward him by giving him some sexual company.

Still, this couldn't go on forever. Rufus poured himself a glass of scotch and swirled the dark amber liquid about, pondering his backup plan. He was staring to resolve himself to the fact this wasn't one of his better ideas. As he did, he heard the faintest sounds of sniffing coming from behind the closet door. Rufus' heart raced as he approached the door and pressed he ear to it. He heard the faintest weeping coming from Tifa. "Yes," he thought. It was time to put his plan into motion.

Rufus began the next morning by ordering a large breakfast, easily enough for two people, but to the unsuspecting just a large amount for one person. He set the dining area for two and opened the door. The timing couldn't be more perfect. The outside sky was dark and cloudy, holding the promise of heavy rain. Because of this, his plans for the day of going around Midgar had been cancelled and he had a reasonable excuse to stay indoors.

Rufus found Tifa asleep on the floor, as usual. This time, however, instead of nudging her awake with his foot, he knelt down and gently stroked her hair away from her face. It was almost hypnotic how she looked in sleep, so calm and serene. To him, it seemed as though she wasn't capable of giving him such trouble. She tightened her eyes shut and stretched now that she was free of her binds. She opened her red eyes and looked up to see Rufus with a warm smile on his face.

Though Elena didn't tell him so, he figured a stark contrast between cold individual to inviting soul would lure her even farther into his sea of deceit. Tifa looked away shyly, obviously not used to this kind of behavior from Rufus. "Hungry, Miss Lockhart?" he asked, recalling her last name from her file.

"Oh he speaks," she replied dully, not looking at him. Her voice seemed to have lost some of its edge in the past couple of days.

Instead of returning her rude comment, Rufus merely tilted his head. He waited for her to face him instead of grabbing her face to force her, like he so wanted to do. The breakfast smells from the table were beginning to permeate the closet. Tifa, who must have been tired of living off of sandwiches and fruit bites for the past few days, looked back at Rufus uncertainly. "This isn't a trick?" she asked.

Rufus stood up and held out his hand to help her up from the floor. "Of course not. You've had a rough few days. And you are my guest, not my prisoner."

Tifa hesitantly took his hand and Rufus helped her to her feet. He met her eyes. Despite just sitting in the closet the entire time, she looked tired too. Her eyes didn't have the fiery tint Rufus remembered seeing when he first brought her here. No doubt she was feeling the weight of not being able to be with her comrades on her shoulders. Rufus gently led her through the door and showed her the meal laid out in front of her. She paused, possibly still weary of trap of some sort. Rufus walked over to the table and pulled out a chair for her, but she did not move. She stood motionless. Today she was wearing Rufus' black pinstripe button up shirt with white boxers peeking out from underneath. He never wore that shirt, and he had to admit, it looked better on Tifa.

"Come, Ms. Lockhart. It went through a lot of trouble preparing this meal for you," he said.

"How do you know my last name?"

"That's not important."

"You looked at my files didn't you?" she said with the slightest hint of sarcasm in her voice as she took a seat.

Rufus smiled at her in return and took his seat. "Yes if you must know. Tifa Lockhart, works at Seventh Heaven seven days a week. I can now safely add AVALANCHE member to her repertoire." Rufus began to eat from his plate and saw the she wasn't. "That wasn't a slight, Miss Lockhart. Just an observation."

"You're making fun of me."

Rufus kept himself from rolling his eyes. She wasn't going to make this easy, was she? "I apologize for any misunderstandings. I would like to make what is wrong right, which is why I have requested your presence at breakfast with me."

"If you want to make things right you should let me go." She smirked, the familiar edge creeping back into her voice.

He laughed. "Maybe for you. But that would make quite a bit of trouble for me and my company, and I can't have that. Look I don't want to talk about business right now. As I said you are my guest and would like to treat you as such. I haven't tied you up as you can see and I am having you at breakfast. The least you can do is pretend you're enjoying yourself."

Tifa eyed the food and Rufus saw a noticeable look of interest. She started to fix her own plate of fruit and pancakes and began to eat. If Rufus held any doubt before, it was absolutely certain now that she clearly was not raised in high society as she didn't eat with her back straight and shoveled food into her mouth as if she would never eat again. Rufus tried to contain himself from saying anything, but he had never seen any woman pack away food the way she did. The only person he saw eat that way was that fat oaf Palmer. It was comedic to him and refreshing at the same time, but still uncouth.

Rufus nervously sipped his coffee in an attempt to keep his mouth busy, trying to hide his apparent disgust. Tifa finally took a breather to pour herself some orange juice. She looked up and noticed Rufus staring at her with wide eyes. She swallowed the food in her mouth and asked, "What's the matter?"

Rufus shook his head slightly. "You just….seem really hungry is all." Had she been eating that way since he had been leaving her food? Then why was she giving him lip about the fast way he was feeding her previously?

Tifa leaned back and ran her hand through her dark hair. She straightened her back and assumed the classy upright pose he was so used to. She gave him an inquisitive look. "No quip about my low upbringing?"

Rufus pursed his lips and shook his head. He didn't want to drive her away by offending her. "If you want anymore let me know."

"Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?"

'Because I want you to tell me AVALANCHE's next move, that's why!' Rufus' inner voice shouted loudly. "Because you are my guest and I want to treat you with respect." He paused. "I also…just want to get to know you better."

Tifa rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, that's what they all say. Get to know me better and then turn around and start grabbing at me with your dirty hands." The last few words went quieter as Tifa fixed herself another plate.

"Who does that to you?"

"Who does what?"

"Who grabs at you with their dirty hands?"

Tifa looked as if she briefly forgot she even said that. "Oh…just patrons at the bar. I don't know their names. When you work day in and day out, they all just become a blur."

Rufus nodded slightly. "I'd be lying if I didn't know how that feels," Rufus said, trying to keep the subject on the bar, hoping to steer her in the direction of AVALANCHE activity there.

"People grab at you too?" she asked, amused.

Rufus looked back at her blankly. "No….well…yes, but that's not what I was referring to. I meant that I work seven days a week as well and sometimes things just blend together."

Tifa nodded slowly. "I didn't know you worked that often. Truth be told I would have thought you were doing other things while your father ran the company."

"How do you mean?"

Tifa shrugged. "I don't know, I guess you'd be out spending money, dating girls, travelling the world…and living it up."

"Living it up?" Rufus put his mug down, upset at the statement. "That's a laugh. All my life has been was work. Sign papers, go to press conferences, meetings and keeping things together. I bust my ass for this company and no one ever sees it. Not you, not the people and especially not my jackass father!"

Tifa grew stonily silent and stiffened. After a tense moment, she finally said, "Sorry, I guess the public just doesn't see much of you to know." Tifa quietly went back to looking at her plate.

Rufus shrugged and sighed, he shouldn't have lost his temper, lest he drive Tifa into more silence. The lack of consistent sleep the past few nights didn't make it any better. "It's not your fault. I've been holed up in Junon these past five years with little contact with the public. That doesn't mean I don't work hard. Day in and day out."

That seemed to comfort her a little bit. "I know the feeling. It's a thankless job. Funny as it is, these past four days here were the only times I've had to myself to think." Tifa finished her food and stood up. "But look at this place here. I've never even seen a place this nice." She looked around her. "You have a clear view of the Sector Five, Six and Seven plates from here. Not to mention more rooms than you need."

Rufus stood up. "Allow me to show you around, Miss Lockhart." He knew he had to help her forget about his outburst before steering the subject back to AVALANCHE. He had all day after all. He motioned for her to follow him as he fingered the outline of his shotgun under his coat should he need to use it. Rufus showed her Dark Nation's room which was the smallest of the apartment's but still sported a breathtaking view and immaculate décor. Dark Nation lay on her plush purple cushion and wagged her tail as Rufus approached to pet her. She looked to Tifa but did not make a move to growl at her, only yawned and tilted on her side. "Would you like to pet her?"

Tifa was backed away slightly. "She won't….hurt me?"

"Not unless I tell her to." Rufus gently took Tifa's hand and had her place it gently on Dark Nation's head. Tifa stroked back and forth and the feline purred in response.

Tifa giggled. "How sweet."

Rufus moved to the next room, 'the book room,' he liked to call it because of all the shelves of books around. Tifa followed him in there and found a white baby grand piano in the corner. She jumped at the sight and walked over. Wordlessly, she played the keys with one finger. Then she sat that the bench and played a simple song. Rufus was impressed to say the least. He watched her as he leaned up against the door frame. "You play?"

"A little. I haven't in a while since I moved to Midgar, and especially on a piano this nice." Tifa continued to play simple chords.

Rufus recalled from her file that her hometown was unknown. "Where did you come from?"

"Nibelheim," she answered without turning to face him. "You've probably never heard of it." Her lips held the faintest smile as if she knew him so well.

"Of course I have. My family has a mansion out there."

The slight smile disappeared from her face as she bit her lip. "Oh that's right. It's been so long since…" she went quiet. "Well, I never went near there anyway. I sometimes forget it was there at all. It was on the outskirts of the town."

"You're not missing much," Rufus shrugged. "It's been abandoned for years now. No need to go back." He paused, not wanting the subject to be about his family. "Who taught you how to play?"

Tifa stopped and stared at the ivory keys. "My mother."

"Your mother?" Rufus also recalled that there were no confirmed relatives of hers.

"Yeah…before she died."

Rufus exhaled deeply with his mouth closed. He certainly didn't want to upset her this way, but he could relate. "My mom taught me how to play too. Before she passed."

Tifa looked at him with melancholic eyes. "You know how to play too? Can you show me?"

Rufus grimaced a bit. "I'm out of practice."

Tifa stood up and playfully pushed him toward the bench. "We both are. Please? I'll stand over here so I won't distract you." Tifa stood in the opposite corner and grinned at him. She seemed so genuinely excited to watch him. How could that be? Was she not locked up in a closet the past couple of days by him? Well she was clearly loosening up at least.

Rufus shrugged. He might as well give her what she wanted to make her feel comfortable. He was facing in her direction so she wouldn't be able to ambush him, though he didn't feel any animosity emanating from her. He couldn't describe it. Her eyes weren't the defiant ones he saw earlier. They were subdued, and glittering with excitement. Rufus began to play a simple song he used to play when he was young called March of the Foxes. Though it wasn't difficult, to the untrained musician it sounded complex because of its speed and use of staccato.

When Rufus finished, he looked up and saw Tifa's smiling face. "March of the Foxes!" she cheered. "Wow, I haven't heard that in years!"

"It was a favorite of mine when I was younger."

"Mine too!" Tifa came up beside him. Rufus looked her up and down. 'Silly girl, getting excited over a song,' he thought. "I played it for one of my first recitals. But you play it so much better than I did."

"It's nothing special. I just used to practice all the time."

"Don't be so modest. You worked hard to get as good as you are, and you played beautifully." She smiled.

Rufus reeled back at the compliment. He saw something different about her now. He hadn't heard praise for his playing since his mother. "Well…why are you being so nice to me?"

Tifa chuckled. "I can appreciate good music when I hear it." Tifa paused and then her smile faded, as if suddenly remembering where she was. As if suddenly realizing who she was speaking to. "Well anyway, you probably had some of the best tutors ever." She tried to sound cheerful by smiling again slightly but looking away.

Rufus motioned her to follow her out to the living room and she did so. "There's not much to say about me." Rufus sat on the couch and Tifa sat on the armchair across from him. "I'm more interested in you."

"There's nothing interesting about me either," she replied. Before Rufus could find the right words, thunder rumbled in the distance and the two of them turned their heads toward the window as heavy rain came down. Tifa, almost as if in a trance, stood up and walked toward the window as the droplets fell against it. "The rain…"

Rufus looked at her curiously. He didn't answer her.

Tifa tilted her head in confusion. "When was the last time I saw the rain?" She mused. She looked back at Rufus who was merely looking at her in confusion. She turned back. "It probably doesn't mean much to you, but I haven't seen the rain in almost three years." She chuckled with no humor. "Three years. How awful is that?"

"How can that be? It rains regularly in Midgar."

Tifa turned around to look at Rufus, a scowl on her face. "Maybe for you and your rich friends. But we don't see the rain on the lower plate. Nor do we see the sunshine." Tifa turned back. "Plus if you've been in Junon, you probably see the rain all the time."

"I apologize for my insensitivity." Rufus surprised even himself. He didn't mean for those words to come out. He shook his head but was satisfied to see the expression on Tifa's face soften as she returned to her seat. "Miss Lockhart, I meant it when I said I want to learn more about you. I want to know how you came to Midgar and even how you became involved with your group."

"What's there to tell? After Nibelhiem….after my home…" Tifa sighed and looked away. "There was nothing left. I had nowhere to go but here. What more is there to say?"

"Just start from the beginning. If you don't want to, I'll leave you here alone in the closet again."

Tifa looked at him and shrugged. She obviously didn't want to go back into confinement. Reluctantly, she began her story. She recounted to him her early, unexciting life of how she grew up. She told him she learned to play the piano and how she treated the now ex-SOLDIER, Cloud. Rufus could see the pang of guilt in her eyes when she told Rufus how she treated him in their youth and how she wished she could take it all back. Rufus stiffened at this story. In some ways it reminded him of his time.

Rufus listened intently, though he didn't mean to. He had fully intended on tuning out until she brought up AVALANCHE but somehow he couldn't help but hang on her every word. Tifa was mysterious indeed. She never made any mention of boyfriends or suitors, which Rufus had thought she would speak of a lot. Did she not know how desirable she was? Even in his shirt and loose-fitting boxer shorts, she was still the epitome of lust, he knew. Why did she never use that to her advantage to escape her destitute life? That's what any other woman he has met has done. He decided not to pry and let her continue.

When Tifa came upon her time getting to Midgar, she looked tired. Rufus didn't realize it, but three hours had passed. Tifa was letting all of the words tumble out of her mouth and Rufus did nothing but listen, save for a few clarifications on her story. He was genuinely surprised at her tenacity in her youth despite her previous displays he was aware of. To think that she was in a coma for days and still came out to lead other groups up Mount Nibel was astounding to him.

The noon hour had passed and Rufus felt hungry again. "That's quite a life so far, Miss Lockhart." Rufus felt mentally exhausted hearing about how she came from the literal ashes of Nibelheim to where she was now.

"I'm hungry," was all she said in response.

Rufus chuckled. "Well if you promise to behave, I'll have something brought up."

Tifa nodded. "Can I go to the bathroom?"

Rufus shrugged. "Of course. Stay in there as long as you need so I the help can bring in lunch."

Tifa nodded excitedly and ran to his room and shut the door behind her. Rufus couldn't help but chuckle at her behavior and at how well his plan was going. She was leaking out secrets like there was no tomorrow. It was nothing he could use yet, but it was a fantastic start. He didn't realize how much he and some slum dweller had in common. Both worked hard for their thankless jobs and both seemed to have a rough time adjusting in their youth, though he couldn't admit that to her.

Rufus called up for lunch and it was delivered in less than twenty minutes. Rufus had the help set the table and Tifa didn't emerge from bedroom. When everything was ready, he went to retrieve her, only to find her resting on his unmade bed. She wasn't sleeping, but she was definitely relaxing. She stirred at his opening of the door.

"Uhh, lunch is ready," he said.

Tifa shot up. "Oh, I'm sorry. Your bed is just so…" she began. She shook her head. "I'm coming." She leapt off and followed Rufus to the impressive display of food laid before her. "Thank goodness, I was getting so sick of sandwiches."

"I'm know Miss Lockhart."

Tifa took a seat. "You don't have to call me that, Mr. Shinra," she said.

"You can call me Rufus," he said, almost comically. He never really liked his name, and only a few people ever referred to him as such.

"Rufus….that's Latin for 'red'," she responded.

Rufus tilted his head back. Not many people knew that. "Yes, it is."

"It's strange because of your tendency to wear white. I'd think you'd go with your family colors, you know, red and black. What is with the suit anyway? Why all of the white?"

Rufus paused, thinking of his response. "I'm not sure. I just like it, I guess."

"White means purity, you know? Are you trying to be pure?"

Rufus' mouth went into a hard line. "I'm not sure what you mean." The question irritated him more than he'd like to admit.

"I guess I don't either." Tifa smiled. As he gazed on Tifa, she smirked. Not exactly a grin, but he knew she was smiling.

"Well nothing to dwell upon. Let's eat." Rufus and Tifa did so. Tifa ate with her usual enthusiasm as Rufus ate with his proper posture. The meal wasn't anything special, just hot soup and fresh bread with a small side of Kobe beef.

"This is fantastic! You eat this way all the time?" Tifa asked.

Rufus looked over at her plate and saw that she had cleaned it up in a manner of seconds. He looked stunned. "Usually. I don't really spend time deciding what to eat each day, I usually just send for whatever is ready in the kitchen."

"I see." Tifa paused, as if unsure what to say. "So did you read all of those books in there?"

Rufus stopped cutting his food up to look at her. "Most of them," he shrugged. "I used to read a lot."

"Yeah? Were you not an outdoors kid at all?"

He shook his head. "No, I wasn't."

"I'll be you had a lot of parties when you were younger. You probably were the most popular kid in town."

"Wrong again. I didn't really play with anyone my age when I was young. I went to school with other children only until I was seven. My mother insisted on having me privately tutored afterward when she found out the other students and most of the staff were too scared to talk to me lest they incur the wrath of my father." When the last word escaped Rufus' lips he wanted to catch himself. It wasn't something he needed to reveal.

"So you didn't have any friends growing up? Just because they were too scared of what your family might do? How awful."

Rufus glared at her. "Don't feel sorry for me. I learned quickly that fear is the only reliable way to get results from your people." He paused. "You'd best learn that."

Tifa stiffened slightly, but her soft expression didn't change. She smirked. "I have." She reached over and placed her hand on Rufus', who jolted slightly at her light touch. "But for what it's worth, I would've have probably been your friend."

"Don't flatter me, Miss Lockhart, if what you said about Strife is any indication, I'd be mocked by you too."

Tifa withdrew her hand and looked toward the window with rain drops sliding down. "I shouldn't have told you that."

Rufus clenched his hand. He was losing her again. "Please, Tifa, don't take what I say personally. If they're as mature as you, the ones that didn't speak to me in my youth are probably wishing they had taken a chance on me. I don't' hold it against them though."

This seemed to have Tifa lighten up a bit. She smiled. "Thank you, Rufus….I like the way my name sounds when you say it." Rufus noticed something different about her in that moment as his heart beat slightly faster. Tifa Lockhart was wearing the same outfits he'd been giving her, her hair was still slightly messy but her eyes shimmered a little more brilliantly and her smile shined more brightly. It was as if Rufus was seeing her in a different way. He noticed something else too, she was only wearing one earring. "Why are you wearing only one earring?"

Tifa's hand jerked up to her right ear then to her left. She looked around as if just noticing it was lost. "Oh no!" she said. "I didn't even know that I lost it. It must have fallen off when I was in the gardens." She looked upset.

"Which gardens?"

"The ones here….the ones where….you found me…"

Rufus nodded. "I'll have my people look for it. Don't worry." Rufus didn't like her sad face. It was making him uneasy. 'Only because I still need her to talk about AVALANCHE,' he reasoned inwardly.

"You'd do that for me?"

"Yes, I'd be happy to do so." Tifa grinned happily. "Though there's something I've been curious about…how did you manage to get to the gardens? I mean there's security everywhere. How did you make it all the way up there? It should've been impossible."

Tifa rolled her eyes. "Well not to us…" she began.


	5. Chapter 5

Rufus listened intently as Tifa spoke about how she and his paths crossed. She looked as if in a daze, staring listlessly out of the window, as if Rufus wasn't there at all. 'This must have been what Elena meant," he thought. "We had been planning it for months. Through our intelligence we discovered a flaw in the security." Rufus shifted in his chair, wanting to ask where it was, but he didn't want to stop Tifa when he was so close to what he was after. "Once we were able to get on the premises, we made our way up the stairs to the higher floors. We had planned to wear disguises, but we just didn't have the time. Our window of opportunity was short.

"Still, everyone was more concerned with their own lives to notice us. Some security looked right at us but did nothing. They must have thought we were third party contractors or something. We made it to the higher floors until a more astute guard recognized my friend Jessie and we scattered. We made our way to the elevator but we were separated by guards who engaged us. My friend Cloud…he insisted I try to run." Tifa looked pained as she spoke of the ex-SOLDIER. "He said to try to finish the mission if I could. I didn't know if I would be able to. I wanted to run from this building, but when I ran downstairs, I heard footsteps coming my way, so I went back up, all the way up, until I heard footsteps coming downstairs. I ran to the closest door, which led outside to that artificial garden, just in time to see your father and his rich executives group coming out.

"Then I saw you wander off in one direction, so I followed you for a bit. Then ran far ahead and then around to hide in a path in front of you, and…." Tifa paused and sighed. "I knew I wouldn't be able to do it. So I just crawled in the bush and hoped you wouldn't see me, and move on."

Rufus' mouth hung open. "Wouldn't be able to do what?" he let slip from his mouth.

"I wouldn't be able to kill you," she said quietly.

Rufus caught himself before he could bolt up from his chair. He couldn't believe what he just heard. He recalled Tifa telling him a few nights ago that hurting him wasn't part of their plan. Then what was it? "Why me?" he wondered aloud.

"Because we weren't after you. We were after your father, but he was never not in the company of many people. Cloud instructed us all that if it were possible to take out a higher level executive, then to do so as an alternative. But when I saw you I couldn't." Rufus tensed. "I didn't really even know who you were. Sure I knew you were the President's son because he called you 'son.' But I couldn't bring myself to do it. You didn't look malicious like him, or even dangerous." Tifa smirked despite herself. "I was weak and wrong."

Rufus was stunned. He didn't even see Tifa until just before he yanked her from the bush. Did she really have sight of him the whole time? Rufus was shocked and uneasy, knowing that if Tifa wanted to, she very well could have killed him and he'd be out of his father's way. How many more times had he come close to death that he didn't know about? First the Sector 5 reactor and now this? Rufus contemplated this until he noticed Tifa shrink away.

"I…I don't know why I said….that…"

Rufus quickly gained his composure. He was so close to a valuable piece of information about AVALANCHE. Once he got them out of the way, he could gain his father's trust and then set about eliminating him himself. "Don't be sorry. You and my old man both want me dead apparently." Rufus stood up and paced over to his liquor cabinet. He absentmindedly poured himself two glasses of scotch.

"What do you mean?" he heard Tifa ask from across the room.

Rufus turned around sat back down in his chair and placed the glass in front of her and swirled the one for himself. "About what?"

"Your father wants you dead?"

Rufus paused, he was also privy to letting things slip out in this setting. "Oh, no, he doesn't." Rufus downed the contents of his glass in one gulp, scrunching his face as he did so at the burning sensation.

"But you just said-"

"Don't worry about what I said. Just drink."

Tifa looked at the glass and smelled its contents. "Gold Saucer Label?"

Rufus regained his senses from his swig and looked at her questioningly. "How did you know that?"

"You like this stuff. I could smell in on your breath the other day. I work in a bar seven days a week, remember?"

"Yes but…you carry an exclusive label like this down there?"

Tifa laughed. "This isn't that exclusive of a label. It's a mediocre scotch that comes in a pretty bottle and has a ridiculously large mark up. It doesn't get ordered often unless someone is trying to impress a date. Most people from where I live can't afford to go to the Golden Saucer, so the name on products is enough to stir interest."

Rufus felt a slight blow to his ego. He ordered this scotch every time he went out. And Tifa was right in that it was always one of the pricier scotches on the menu. "Well then, a peasant drink for me it is." He reached over to Tifa's glass and downed it as well.

Tifa chuckled. "You know you almost seem human from time to time."

Rufus smirked at that. "Normally I'd fire someone for saying such a thing to me."

"Well it's a good thing I'm already out of a job." Tifa returned a smile. But then her smile faded. "Rufus, you know your father isn't really trying to kill you, right?"

Rufus glared at her, but Tifa didn't back down this time and she matched his gaze defiantly. "Why do you go back to that? We were just talking about scotch."

"No before that you said your old man wants you dead, and you were just joking, right?"

Rufus roughly slammed Tifa's glass down on the table with such a force she was surprised it didn't shatter. "Yeah, what do you know of that?" Rufus felt a dullness feeling from the liquor, not enough to say he was buzzed but he definitely let his tongue loose. He lifted his loose blond strands from his head, showing Tifa the mark he received during the Sector 5 bombing. "You asked me how I got this, remember? Well I can thank your friends for that, partially, when they blew up one of our reactors the other day!" Tifa receded slightly. She was clearly aware of the plans to bomb Sector 5.

Rufus put his hands back on the armrests and leaned in closer to Tifa. "But you see I wasn't supposed to be there, and I have reason to believe my father wanted me there for the express purpose of doing away with me for good, that's why he allowed AVALANCHE to proceed! Why not get rid of both thorns in his side?"

Tifa sighed. "So they went through with it, huh?" she said quietly to herself.

"Yes they did! All at the cost of innocent lives and millions of gil in damages. And worse still, it doesn't seem like any of us got what we wanted. Shinra is still operating, AVALANCHE is still causing trouble and good ol' Rufus Shinra is still kicking." Rufus leaned back in his chair and looked at Tifa who had a forlorn look on her face. "What's wrong with you?" he asked, annoyed.

Tifa slowly shook her head. "Nothing…it's just…the truth hurts sometimes."

"What do you mean?"

Tifa looked back at him. "You're here. You're alive. Your father doesn't want you dead, it just can't be true."

"Are you on that again? It's the truth, Lockhart, so just drop it."

Tifa bore hear nails into the armrests of the chair. "I will not! No father should ever wish for the death of their only child. My father loved me and would have done anything for me. That's what a father is supposed to do."

"Well how silly would you feel if you knew I wasn't my old man's only kid!" Rufus felt his temper rising. "The old bat didn't even have the courtesy to stay faithful to my mother for two days at a time."

"But you're his heir!"

"So what? It's all a matter of convenience with him, and now he probably has a backup plan which is why he's trying to get rid of me." Rufus bolted upright and sauntered over to his liquor cabinet again. Tifa got up and followed him, blocking his path to it.

"Don't think like that, Rufus! You're too important to him and this company. There's just no logic to it. Don't you understand?"

Rufus stiffened, his mouth in a hard line. "I don't answer your questions." He roughly moved around her. Tifa turned and grabbed his arm and forced him to face her.

"You've been answering my questions all day! Don't just brush this off, you can talk to me!"

Rufus roughly pulled his arm back from Tifa's grasp. "I don't need to talk to you or anyone else!" He roughly grabbed Tifa's upper arm and forced her to him this time. He could feel the rage boil over, and knew somewhere in the back of his mind that Tifa wasn't the person it should be directed at. But unfortunately she was there and he was already speaking. "My family isn't a family, it's a company. A company with its own interests and political complexities that no one else can understand, least of all slum dwelling bar wenches like you!"

Rufus didn't have a chance to react to what happened next. All he could feel was the sting on his cheek as Tifa's hand came across it. Without thinking he dropped his glass to the floor, released her and slapped her as well, with a resounding crack echoing through the room. Tifa merely staggered back slightly. Rufus almost expected her to hold her cheek and cry, but she didn't. In a split second, both grabbed each other by the shirt. Tifa reeled back with her free hand, ready to punch him while Rufus reached for his shotgun. Before the first could strike, there was a loud knock on the door echoed by the loud thunder outside. Both heads turned to it, and then back to each other. Rufus felt the fury emanating from Tifa as well as from himself. He sighed and put his hand down. He wrapped his arm around Tifa's waist and all but dragged her to his bedroom.

He roughly shoved her inside. "Just stay in here and be quiet!" he hissed and slammed the door behind him. Adjusting his clothing, he went to pick up the dropped glass. "Enter!" he called.

An assistant of his father's entered at the sound, holding a stack of papers. "We have today's paper sir," she said. She set it down as Rufus rolled his eyes and resumed his trip to the liquor cabinet. He mindless poured himself more liquor as he heard the assistant put the papers on his table and then gathering up the dirty dishes from lunch. "Sir, shall I have the help come in and clean up the apartment?"

Rufus looked behind him and saw how unkempt the place had gotten since taking in Tifa. He saw her gather up the dirty dishes from lunch. "Not necessary," he said, his temper not fully under control. "I will send for you when the papers are signed."

The assistant nodded and left. Rufus sighed and drank more scotch. The third glass made him dizzy. He decided it was time to slow down. He paced about his quarters as he heard the rain patter on the glass outside. He had messed up. He had messed up bad. What was he hoping to accomplish by brining Tifa here? He should've turned her over the minute he apprehended her. He should've. But there was a part of him that was relieved he didn't. He didn't want to imagine his father and his sweaty body on top of Tifa's as he drove himself inside of her. He shuddered at the thought. No. Tifa may have been an uncouth low life, but she opened herself to him and trusted him. Well trusted him as much as she could in this situation, one that Rufus ensured her no harm would come to her. But he messed up. He struck her, even if she struck him first. That was not the proper way to gain someone's trust, and now more than likely, she wouldn't talk to him about anymore AVALANCHE activities.

Rufus walked over to the couch and plopped down. From the corner of his eye, he saw Dark Nation stalk out, obviously fresh off of enjoying her sleep, judging by her absence in his and Tifa's squabble. She came by and brushed herself on Rufus' dangling hand. With all of the stress of the past few days, he had almost forgotten she was there. He had originally wanted to bring her to cause trouble for the help, but when he instructed them to keep out of his apartment, he realized she would just be cooped up and bored the rest of the time. As he pondered this, he saw Dark Nation walk over to his closed bedroom door. She sat down and whined quietly. She must've picked up on Tifa's unease. "Females…" Rufus thought.

Rufus took a deep breath and relaxed for a few minutes. He would have to face Tifa sooner or later. He stood up and locked his shotgun in his cabinet, confident that he wouldn't need it for now. He tried to take his mind off of her for a moment and tried to at least get some paperwork done. He had nearly finished the stack when he came across the report of Cloud Strife and the Ancient, Aerith Gainsborough, seen in each other's company at the Wall Market. The photo of the two of them was no doubt taken by Tseng since the quality was crystal clear, so clear he could make out the Ancient's green eyes even from the distance at which the photo was taken. He took the photo and put it to the side, studying it. "So this is the man Lockhart grew up with," Rufus thought as he looked it over. Rufus could admit he wasn't unattractive, but there didn't seem to be anything special about him, aside from making the elite SOLDIER rank. Rufus brushed it away from him and looked up at the closed door. She was behind there, probably crying or brooding. "Dumb, weak girl…"

He moved to the open door and slowly pulled on the handle. To his surprise, he saw Tifa standing at the side of his now-made bed, putting the finishing touches on the top duvet. She looked up at him, just as startled as he was. She exhaled deeply and walked over to the end of the bed and sat down, hands folded in her lap and looking at the floor.

Rufus did not move, as if afraid to disturb the silence, punctuated by the falling rain against the glass, and the otherworldly scene before him. His eyes darted to the floor and saw his clothing that had been dropped on the floor over the past few days were neatly folded. Bits of garbage that didn't make it into the trashcan were picked up. And Tifa had done a fantastic job of making his bed. But why did she do this?

Tifa was absolutely still as she sat in front of him. "I lost my temper," she said meekly. A bewildered Rufus sat down beside her. "I'm sorry for slapping you. I know it's not much, but I can't stand to see a messy room." She still held her head down.

"I'm sorry too, Tifa," Rufus said, looking out at the open door in front of him. The tension between them felt similar to the night he brought her here. "I thank you for fixing up the room, but you didn't have to do that. Not for me."

Tifa sat up straight and Rufus could feel her gaze on him, but he still didn't turn to face her. After a few moments, he felt a gentle touch on his temple. He jumped slightly and quickly regained his composure. Tifa traced a delicate line along the mark on his temple. He didn't face her still, nor did he stop her. "I'm sorry my friends did this to you. We didn't mean to hurt you…well not you in particular. At least you're okay." Rufus lowered his eyes as Tifa withdrew her hand. "I know I shouldn't ask but…do you know if my friends are okay too?"

Rufus sighed, a bit baffled that Tifa only decided to wait until now to ask about them. "As a matter of fact I received word that the Strife was found yesterday in the company of a young woman we've been tailing for quite some time," he responded.

He felt Tifa stiffen. "A woman?"

"Yes, I believe she's about twenty-two. She resides in the Sector Five slums."

"Yeah? What else?"

"What do you mean what else? Our science department has been monitoring her since she was young. There's not much more to say."

"Oh. You don't know what she looks like?"

Rufus stood up and walked to the living room, grabbing the photo off of the table and coming back to sit next to Tifa. "This photo was taken yesterday. Your friends there too."

Tifa grasped this photo with both hands. "She's really pretty." Rufus saw Tifa look over the photo with wide eyes, looking at the brunette girl in a pink dress. "You don't suppose they're on a date, do you?" Tifa asked, not looking up.

"How should I know? And what do you care?"

Tifa shrugged. "I'll bet he'll take her to the bar for the meeting tomorrow afternoon," she said quietly.

Rufus jerked his head to face her. "Did she just?" his mind raced. This was what he was waiting for. In an instant he felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders. It was so overwhelming he didn't even feel himself stand up. "Meeting? What meeting?"

Tifa's gaze snapped up to his. "Nothing. I didn't say anything!"

Rufus softened his expression, but knew he had her. "My mistake." Rufus grinned. He felt as if he could jump for joy. He finally had the rest of AVALANCE within his grasp. "I must say, Tifa, you are full of surprises. You've managed to make my bed better than the people that work for me do."

Tifa clutched the photo in her hand, while she trembled at her words, as if she hoped Rufus really didn't hear her. "Th-thank you. It's just something I do every day. I don't know where you keep you dirty laundry, but I like folded clothes as well."

Rufus, overcome with joy at his new revelation, knelt down on the floor and looked up Tifa. He found a new appreciation for her after unwittingly giving him that information. "I thank you, Tifa. Now, why don't you sit out in the living room while I get dinner? In fact, no more closet for you for the duration of your stay. There's guards posted outside of the door for constant surveillance, and I know you won't try to escape." He winked at her, feeling bolder in his actions.

Tifa relaxed somewhat. "Thank you, Rufus." She took one more look at photograph and handed it to him. "You can have this back now." Rufus noted the crumpled edges from when Tifa gripped it too hard. He knew full well that she was uncomfortable with the fact Strife was with another girl. No doubt she was reasoning that Strife hadn't come to rescue her yet because he was with the Ancient. "She must be devastated," Rufus thought. "No matter, she'll be with them in a prison cell soon enough and out of my hair."

It would be a godsend not having to worry about her anymore. He would be able to sleep through the night and be rid of the headaches that kept coming in throughout the day. He'd be back on his father's good graces too. As Tifa and he walked out into the living room, Dark Nation came up to Tifa as she sat on the couch, watching the rain outside. Rufus recalled when he first got Dark Nation too. He was only fourteen and he found her to be a nuisance to care for as well. Now he couldn't imagine his life without her. "I'll be right back," he called. "Is there anything you're in the mood for?" Rufus gathered the signed documents and hastily signed off on the last few pages.

Tifa turned around to face Rufus, propping herself up on the back of the couch. "You're asking me what I want?"

"Don't get too used to it, but yes."

"How about something I've never heard of before? Something elegant and fancy?"

Rufus was a bit taken aback by her boldness. "That's quite a request for being under detainment." He shrugged.

"I don't mean to impose. But I hope you won't disappoint."

Rufus couldn't help but smile at that. "I will get something nice for us- I mean, you."

"Thank you. I must find something nice to wear," Tifa said as she playfully turned around to face the window once again.

With that, Rufus left the room. As soon as he made it to the elevator, he rang up his father directly. "This better be good, disturbing me before dinner."

"It's about AVALANCHE. I found them."

Rufus phoned his two present Turks and instructed them to meet him and his father in the meeting room in half an hour. He phoned his other two Turks, Rude and Tseng, and instructed them to come to the Shinra building immediately. The large meeting room had Rufus, Reno and Elena, his father, and Scarlet and Heidegger in attendance. Palmer, the fat oaf, was no doubt at the Honey Bee Inn. Reeve was also still on his business trip, but it was not matter. He didn't need them now.

"Well Rufus, glad to see you've recovered from your troubles since the Sector Five bombing. Now you say you have a definitive location for AVALANCHE?" his father began.

Rufus sat up straight. "I do, father. Through recognizance work done by my Turks here and my own personal sources, I have confirmation that AVALANCHE will be at the Seventh Heaven Bar in the Sector Seven slums tomorrow afternoon. I believe we can plan a stakeout of the location and apprehend them, then bring them to the prison blocks for questioning."

President Shinra, Scarlet and Heidegger glanced at each other. Simultaneously, Reno and Elena shared a glance, almost as if they were confused. Elena would no doubt poke her nose about Rufus' 'personal' source, but Reno would probably prod him later. "You're sure about this, son?" his father asked.

"I'm sure. I'm just as interested in removing them as you are."

His father and his two cronies shared another glance. "Very well, son. I believe you. We will set up our plans tomorrow. Meet us back here tomorrow afternoon at two and we will roll out the plan. I may need the assistance of your two lackeys here."

Reno stiffened at the apparent insult. Elena held her composure. "Go with him and get Tseng and Rude too, I'll meet you back here tomorrow."

Rufus left the signed papers with his father and headed back to his apartments. On his way up, he rang the kitchen to prepare a share plate style dinner with the finest ingredients they had. He was relieved that the staff didn't question his requests for large meals lately. Soon enough, he would go back to having his meals brought up for just one person. "And I can eat alone again," Rufus thought. The words echoed in his mind did not seem as pleasing as he thought they would.

When Rufus opened the door to his apartment, he found Tifa sleeping on his couch with Dark Nation at her feet. After a few nights on the cold floor, the softness of the couch must have been inviting to her. Rufus, riding high on the thought that he was finally going to be done with this whole ordeal, gently shook Tifa awake. "Tifa, I must ask that you stay in my room while dinner is being brought up," he said.

Tifa stirred and nodded, giving him a faint smile in understanding. She leaned up, stretched and went into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. A few minutes later, the staff brought in the meal with an assortment of food that Rufus saw in only the finest restaurants around the world. The staff left after setting up the table and Rufus called for Tifa to come out.

When she emerged, she was still wearing Rufus' pinstripe shirt, but she had folded it and arranged it to look like a sleeveless dress. Rufus was shocked. Not only did she make the shirt look even better on her, but it accentuated her curves, especially her bosom. Rufus barely remembered her aversion to being stared at in time and gestured for her to come join him at the table.

"Just trying to make the best of what I have. Though I must say," Tifa eyed the table, "this is much more impressive than I imagined."

Tifa and Rufus both sat at the table and shared the food. Tifa's hair was still slightly a mess, she was wearing no make-up and still ate in an uncivilized manner. But to Rufus, she still held an elegance about her that he hadn't seen before. During dinner, the two didn't speak much. There was slight tension but Rufus was mostly just feeling anxious for tomorrow to come. "So…" Tifa broke the silence. "What will happen to me after…all this?"

Rufus sipped some water and replied, "Well, I'm not going to lie to you, but you do know that you and your friend will have to answer for your crimes." Tifa looked down with a melancholic expression. "But I suppose your cooperation with me these past few days can grant them leniency when they're apprehended."

Tifa perked up. "Well, you'll have to apprehend them first." She chuckled. That seemed to lift some of the tension between them. Tifa was clearly not aware that her friends were to be apprehended tomorrow and brought to the building. "Well if that happens, I suppose you'll want to be with them once again."

"It would be nice to see them. I had been away from Cloud for years before I saw him again for the first time in months."

Rufus pushed his plate away slightly. "Why would she bring him up like that?" he thought. "Well just keep in mind, he's with the Ancient right now and she'll probably be taken too." Tifa didn't respond, but Rufus could feel the difference in demeanor emanating off of her. Rufus didn't know what compelled him to say that. True, he didn't necessarily need Tifa's cooperation anymore, now that he had the information. So why did he feel compelled to be nice to her now? "Let's not talk about that now. We're here and we're at dinner. Let's just…enjoy it."

Tifa's lower lip quivered side by side. "I suppose you're right."

Rufus didn't know what to say after that. While he very well could've turned Tifa over to his company right then, he didn't want to. This would likely be her last night of freedom, and he wanted to make it last at least. "You look nice, Miss Lockhart."

Tifa jolted at the words. "Thank you. It's your clothing though."

"It looks better on you." He gave her an easygoing smirk. Tifa returned it and the two ate the rest of dinner in silence.

Rufus let Tifa shower as he had the help clear the table and take his laundry downstairs for cleaning. He pet Dark Nation and made sure all of his potential weapons were secure. He brought out another shirt and pair of boxers for Tifa to wear. He set them on his bed and waited for Tifa to come out. When she did, she picked up the white shirt and boxer and dressed, then retrieved her blanket from the closet. She plopped down on the sofa while Rufus strode beside her. "Good night, Rufus. Thank you for dinner," she said, yawning.

"You're welcome, Miss Lockhart," he responded.

"It's Tifa," she said, rolling over. "Hope you don't forget it, I was just starting to like you…" her voice drifted off letting sleep take her. Rufus took one more sidelong glance at her sleep form and closed the door to his bedroom. He took a shower laid in bed, having Dark Nation watch the door. Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.

After a restless sleep, Rufus awoke and had breakfast brought up. Tifa waited in the bathroom while the help came in to bring breakfast and his fresh stack of paperwork. Rufus pored over the paperwork while Tifa walked about. "Do you mind if I play the piano some more?" she asked, timidly.

"Not at all, but try to keep it quiet," he answered, looking over the paperwork. It was odd, but in that moment he felt so used to having Tifa up and about during the day. No longer having to wring information from her, Rufus left her to her devices while he carried on through the business of the day. The rain had stopped sometime in the night and hazy sun was casting indoors.

Rufus mindlessly went about his task as he listened to Tifa play. She was clearly out of practice, but she found her niche eventually and began to play with more confidence and ease. She even played March of the Foxes like he had the day before. Rufus found it soothing enough to drone through the rest of the afternoon, despite the mild headache. After he had lunch brought up, the time was near for him to go meet his father. This would very well be the last time he'd get to spend with Tifa.

He walked into his book room and saw her still sitting on the piano bench. "Tifa, I'll be attending a meeting. I'll be back later," he announced.

"You don't have to announce your departure, you know. I'm not going anywhere," she smiled.

Rufus nodded. She was right. "Well with me gone, you shouldn't play the piano lest someone want to come in and investigate."

Tifa nodded and looked over the bookshelf. "Maybe I can finish one of these by the time you get back and we can talk about it?"

Rufus shrugged. It would be a fool's errand but she didn't need to know that. "Knock yourself out."

Tifa skipped to the living room and sat on the couch and began to read.

As the meeting approached, Rufus raced down to the meeting room and let himself in. He saw Scarlet, Heidegger and his father in there. He noted the absence of his own subordinates as well as the television screens tuned in to the Sector 7 surveillance cameras near the main support pillar. There seemed to be a brawl occurring between AVALANCHE and Shinra personnel. His Turks too, it seemed, were trying to apprehend the Ancient while the shootout occurred around them.

"Were the guards not posted outside of Seventh Heaven?" Rufus asked. "Why are they there?"

"Guards? Kya ha aha!" Scarlett cackled. "Of course they're not there now. We weren't staking out the bar to apprehend them, we're going to destroy them!"

Rufus did a double take. "What! What are you talking about?" He looked to his father who had a smug look on his face.

"Why waste the time and money keeping them imprisoned?" Scarlett continued.

"We're going to make the plate fall and crush those terrorist scum," Heidegger chimed in.

"The whole plate! What for? Those are our people on that plate! They'll be wiped out too! What purpose would this serve?"

"Since when were you so soft, son? This is the only way to ensure their permanent destruction," his father said.

"But the entire plate?" Rufus bellowed.

"We were going to drop the Sector Six plate too but thanks to your information, we only have to drop the one. Shouldn't be long now…."

Rufus gulped as he looked at the screen, watching the sequence of events play out. With the view from his apartment, he knew Tifa would be able to see it. What would she think of him? When he promised her team leniency? And what of his Turks? Rufus chewed his lip. He couldn't let her see that. "Please excuse me, I must be going," he said, inching his way towards the door.

"You'll miss the fireworks!" Scarlett called after him.

"To hell with the fireworks!" Rufus said as he bolted down the hallway. He raced to the elevator but it couldn't come fast enough. Feeling time ticking away, he went to the side and threw the door open and raced up the stairs. His apartment was only three flights up, but they seemed endless to him now. As he took each stair under his foot, he felt a violent jolt that shook the entire building, sending him teetering to the floor. His eye caught something white in the otherwise completely gray and dark blue interior, but he ignored it and ran up the door leading to his floor. "Tifa!" he called as he thrust open the door. He stood completely still and out of breath as he saw a distant Tifa standing completely still, looking out the window with the large plume of smoke rising in the air where her home had once been.


	6. Chapter 6

It was as if all of Rufus' senses escaped him at once, as soon as he opened the door, and he was floating in purgatorial abyss. But slowly, one by one, they returned as he could see Tifa slowly sink to her knees with her face pressed against the glass of the window. Through distorted hearing, he was vaguely aware of the sirens off in the distance and possibly the collective wail of people down below witnessing the devastation. He closed the door behind him and walked over to Tifa's trembling and wailing form. Her cries would no doubt be heard throughout the building if there wasn't so much chaos going on down below.

Tifa cried uncontrollably, losing every bit of poise she had just an hour before when Rufus left her. The smoke covered the sky and made the sun disappear from their sight. Rufus, unsure of what to do, knelt down next to Tifa and gently put an arm around her shoulder. This was quite new to him and Tifa didn't seem to notice as she sank further until the top of her head was pressed to the glass. There was a weighted tension in the room as Rufus pondered what to do next. Tifa seemed lost in her own world, her own sorrow. Her sobs had quieted down, but she was still reeling. Rufus helped her to her feet and slowly guided her to his dark bedroom with the curtains drawn. He pulled the blanket back from its neat resting place and helped Tifa in.

Tifa settled up, still sobbing. Rufus sat on the edge and pulled the blanket up to her chest and got up to leave, but was stopped by Tifa's embrace around his waist. "No…wait…don't go…" she begged as she buried her face in his torso. Rufus remained seated with his back against the headboard and a sobbing brunette all but situated in his lap. Rufus recalled how his mother held him in a similar way when he was sad and he mimicked her motions by stroking Tifa's hair as she once did. That seemed to calm her somewhat, but she still sniffed and coughed and held Rufus tightly. What else could she do when she had nothing left?

Rufus leaned his head back and it was only then that he noticed how much his heart had been racing and how his dull headache never left him. What was he really hoping to accomplish by dashing up to his apartment that way? Tifa would've felt the commotion, certainly would have heard it, and would eventually see the smoke if she so much as glanced outside the window. It was indeed a pointless endeavor, but Rufus hated to admit that he was happy he was there with Tifa now, not leaving her alone in her grief. He closed his eyes and let the faint sound of the emergency responders at ground zero drone in his ears.

When Rufus opened his eyes again, he realized he had fallen asleep in his upright position. For how long, he wasn't sure. He looked down and saw Tifa had tired herself out as well. She was sleeping soundly on her side, facing away from him, but was still pressed against Rufus' form. It was a large bed they sat upon, he wondered why she didn't distance herself. As if in a daze, Rufus took off his coat and kicked off his shoes and lay beside Tifa. He put his arm around her held her close. He could smell his soap in her hair and it was oddly comforting to him. Her body was warm and still, at peace. "No sense in making her sleep on the couch and ruining her comfort…It's the least I can do." Rufus reasoned. He closed his eyes once again. "Dumb girl…"

Rufus awoke again sometime later and saw that he had his arm draped around Tifa still. He didn't feel much more well rested than usual, but his headache was absent. Tifa was no longer breathing deeply as she was when she was sleeping. Rufus tilted his head up and briefly saw her face. Her eyes were open and puffy from her previous crying, but her expression was otherwise distant and blank. Her arms and hands were held close to her chest. "Oh, he awakens," her soft voice said flatly. Rufus lay back down, unsure of what to do or say. He was too stunned to even take his arm back. "Looks like you got what you wanted. AVALANCHE is no more. Your side wins today. Until another one comes." Tifa's voice was thick with a hauntingly quiet disdain. "Is that what our lives are?" She paused again. "Attack, wait to be attacked, attack again? When will we stop doing this to ourselves?" Rufus was absolutely still, holding his breath. Even though she wasn't facing him, he could almost feel her gaze on him from behind her head. "Why live this way? Aren't you tired….aren't you tired, Rufus…?" Tifa was silent again.

Rufus frowned. What did she know about how he was living his life? He wanted to argue with her, but he couldn't find the words to say. Instead he wordlessly got up and picked up his coat and shoes from the floor and left. He rushed to get away from her, not wanting to face her now. "Asking me if I'm tired…" he thought. "Of course I'm tired! I've been tired of you ever since you got here!" In truth, he knew that wasn't what she meant, but he believed if he distanced himself from her physically, he wouldn't have to face the truth. Not now. He picked up the stack of signed papers and checked on Dark Nation on his way out of the apartment. She seemed to be in a melancholic state as well.

On the elevator ride down to the main work offices, Rufus glanced outside through the glass panes. The sun was setting and light began lights peppered the view. He thought about what to do with Tifa now. Her purpose had been had set and served to him. Her group of teammates had been eliminated and, according to her and her files, she didn't have any relatives or friends that could pick up where they left off. It had been done and now he could get back in his father's good graces. But at what cost? Not that he would've paid much mind to it otherwise, but many people were dead now from his information. Was his father really going to destroy two sectors without his information? Not likely.

When Rufus made his way back to his professional office, he dropped off the signed papers and sat at his desk. It felt strangely foreign to him as he spent most of his time lately in his apartments doing paperwork while watching over Tifa. He pulled out his PHS and saw he had numerous missed calls and messages. He listened to a few and was relieved to find out that his Turks had survived the Sector 7 Plate collapse unharmed. Looking at the time, it had been six hours since the plate collapse. Once he heard the good news, he rang them up to come meet him in his office immediately for a report. They arrived within ten minutes. All stood at attention, save for Reno, who sat lazily in a chair.

"We are happy to see you in good health sir," Tseng, the leader, greeted him on the team's behalf. "We've been trying to reach you for the past few hours."

Rufus wondered curiously why he hadn't heard his phone go off the entire time. He must have been out cold when he slept. "I had some…matters to attend to," Rufus replied. "I want a report of this Sector Seven disaster."

The Turks exchanged a glance to one another. Elena stepped forward. "Well, on your orders sir, we followed your father's instructions with the information you provided. When we were told of the destruction plan, we did as we were told. But…there's an issue."

"What issue?" Rufus could feel the faintest throbs of a headache starting to set in once again.

Tseng spoke up again. "We did not get rid of all of AVALANCHE."

Rufus stood up straight, shocked, and leaned on his desk. "What do you mean?"

"That's why we've been trying to reach you. Your father is furious at the fact that some were able to escape."

Reno stood up and pointed to a fresh bruise on his cheek. "And not easily either," he added wryly.

Elena continued the report, ignoring Reno. "We managed to apprehend the Ancient and bring her here. She's currently in Hojo's lab. She admitted that a young girl by the name of Marlene was not near the impact site either. The ex-SOLDIER and the former miner managed to get away as well, but not before demanding to know what happened to a woman named Tifa. Do you know about any of that?"

"Yeah, Lockhart," Reno interjected. "She was in the case file stack I gave you boss, remember? There was hardly anything on her, but she owned the bar that you said AVALANCHE was going to be at. But she was suspiciously missing from the skirmish."

"That's inconsequential, she's probably flattened with the rest of the slum dwellers," said Rufus quickly. "With most of AVALANCHE gone and the mess with the Sector Seven Plate collapse, we needn't worry about any activity from her anyway. What of my father? Does he know about her? What did he make of all of this?"

"You'll find out soon enough, sir," said Tseng. "He's been trying to reach you too. Upon our return he ordered us to inform you that he would like a phone call as soon as possible."

Rufus grimaced. "I'll take care of that later. What about Sector Seven? How are we handling the media?"

"With the surviving members, Shinra has decided to blame it on AVALANCHE publically. That should satiate the public while we find the survivors."

Rufus nodded absentmindedly as he slowly sank down in his chair. He heard the words but his mind drifted elsewhere. He actually felt relieved that he could return to Tifa with good news. He had been worried about confronting her later. "Good work," he said quietly. "You're dismissed. I'll call on you if I need you."

The Turks bowed their heads silently and left. Once they were gone, Rufus considered what to do next. He wanted to go tell Tifa some of her friends were okay, but he didn't want to keep his father waiting now that he showed his worth to him. Maybe he could come back to Midgar and leave Junon for good. He pulled out his PHS and phoned his father. He sounded irritated when he answered but not with Rufus. "Son, how nice of you to be back at work," he said. "Come meet me in my office in half an hour."

Rufus made his way to his father's main office on the top floor, looking over the city. "Nice to see you, son," he greeted. "Please leave us Eleanor." His secretary silently nodded and left. "Sit, son." Rufus made his way to his father's desk at sat across from him. "You've done a great deal trying to bring AVALANCHE to justice." He paused. "But not enough, since some of those bastards got away!" he slammed a fist down to his desk.

Rufus jumped at the sudden sound but quickly regained his composure. He eyed his father's desk and saw scattered paperwork of some of the AVALANCHE members' files there, big red "X"s on the photos of, who he assumed, were confirmed deceased. "It appears they just refuse to die," he managed to say. His eyes drifted to the photograph of Tifa, a large question mark on her photograph.

Small forms of sweat formed on his father's forehead. "Indeed. Well nonetheless, we're that much closer to eliminating them for good. Now there's just the question on what to do about you." Rufus straightened in his chair. Hoping he'd get the good news he'd been waiting for. "I would like you to be more proactive on the military action in Junon upon your return. With these attacks there may be more around the world. I want to see some tangible progress in the next two years or so."

Rufus inhaled sharply. That wasn't quite what he had in mind. "Two years? I want to come back to Midgar!  
There's hardly anything I can do in Junon that will make any real progress. I almost took down AVALANCHE, the ones responsible for all of the recent discord." Rufus couldn't contain his anger and raised his voice. "I deserve to come back here!"

"Don't presume to tell me what you deserve, boy! If you really want what you deserve I ought to have you thrown in prison for the rest of your days!" Rufus' mouth went into a hard line and clenched his jaw. "Almost took down AVALANCHE, hah! If you're so good at doing that why are some of them still out there?" He held up a photograph of Tifa to his face. "Why were you not able to confirm other members who are otherwise missing? You haven't done any more than Don Corneo has. You'll be leaving for Junon tomorrow morning and won't be coming back for a long time!"

Rufus was stunned into silence. "This can't be happening!" he thought. There had to be something he could do. "What if I find her?" Rufus blurted out without thinking. He kept himself from almost clasping his mouth shut, as if to pull the words back in. His pulse raced so much he could feel it in his throat.

His father reeled back in shock. "Who?" he looked at the photo in his hand. "Her? What good would she be?"

Rufus struggled for the right words to say. He couldn't go back now. "She could….maybe lead to others."

"How would you manage that? You don't even know where she is or if she's alive!"

Rufus stood up and shook his head. "You're right…." he said quietly. "She's probably dead. No need to look for her."

He looked to his father eyeing the photograph. "Shame too. If she were brought here, I'd make good use of her. So would Corneo." He flicked the photo back on his desk. "You're dismissed."

Rufus stormed out from his father's office. What was he to do now? If he was to return to Junon he'd either have to take Tifa with him or set her free. Neither option was particularly viable. He shook his head, headache throbbing slightly. "Eleanor, I'll be taking the rest of the night off to prepare for my departure. Inform the workers," he called to his father's secretary. She nodded.

On the way back down to his apartments, he turned off his PHS and rubbed his forehead. "White means purity, you know? Are you trying to be pure?" Tifa's words echoed in his mind. He held the fabric of his white suit and felt disgusted. Was he really about to hand Tifa over to his father just so he could stay in Midgar? It was a chilling thought. He wasn't going to hand Tifa over to him or anyone else. She was his responsibility and he would protect her in this uncertain transition.

Rufus was so lost in thought at the idea of her being under his protection, that he almost missed the elevator stopping at his floor. He stepped out in time and hastily walked to his apartment, hoping at least that telling Tifa the news of her friends' survival would lift his spirits on his otherwise terrible day.

He opened the door slowly and saw the room absolutely still and quiet. The lights were off since he left, but the bright lights of the city filtered in and the room was else wise illuminated by a single lamp. "Tifa?" he called. "Tifa, there's something I-" Rufus was startled by the loud slam of the door behind him and stunned by being tackled to the floor by a deranged brunette holding a pistol to his forehead and a hand to his throat. Her red eyes were hard and intent. Her expression was angry and determined. She sat atop of him, legs straddled on either side.

Rufus wondered how she was able to get the pistol, but recalled that he didn't remember feeling it under his pillows when he lay down next to Tifa. He was careless, and now it appeared he would pay for it. "You…" Tifa breathed. She was breathing heavily as if out of breath. "How could you? How could you do this to me? I have nothing to live for now! You took everything I had and now I will take you away from your precious company!" Her hands shook and her grip tightened around his neck. He could hear distantly the sound of Dark Nation's claws scratching at a closed door in an attempt to save her master. Tifa had apparently taken precautions.

"Your friend…survived…" he managed to choke out.

Tifa's expression changed to surprise. "What?" she loosened her grip slightly on his neck.

"Strife is alive! Him and the one armed giant." He coughed. "And some girl named Marlene. They're all alive."

Tifa's expression melted into disbelief as she eased up off of Rufus and sat down on her on her bent knees. Her shaky arm hold the pistol lowered and she dropped the weapon. "They…they are?" she whispered.

Rufus kicked the weapon away and slowly sat up, rubbing his neck from the brief assault. "You foolish wench, I should have you thrown in the-" Rufus was again caught off guard by Tifa wrapping her arms around him, laughing and sobbing at the same time.

"They're alive!" She rocked him back and forth excitedly. "I can't believe it…" She pulled back and held his head in her hands and spread excited kisses all over his cheeks and forehead, and then on his lips. Both of their eyes flew open in astonishment. Rufus could see Tifa's shocked expression as red stained her cheeks. She pulled back slightly and breathed heavily, in disbelief of her own behavior. "I'm sorry…I just…" Rufus looked at her with wide eyes, her flushed face, her heaving chest. Her meek submission hiding her fiery temperament.

This time, it was Tifa that was shocked as Rufus toppled her to the floor with hard kiss in return, his hand on the back of her head pressing her to him. All of his anxiety that had plagued him from having her here melted away as he ran his fingers through her hair and as his tongue invaded her mouth. Tifa squirmed under him, but did not try to get away. Rufus blindly continued his ministrations and felt Tifa's mouth open and accept him, joining him in the bizarre dance. Their teeth clinked together in unmistakable hunger and excitement.

Rufus couldn't believe his own behavior, but he was relieved when Tifa reciprocated. She was his and no one else's. Rufus broke away and began kissing down her neck. She breathed heavily and gripped the fabric of his sleeves tightly, panting and breathless. Rufus was distantly aware of the faint scratches from his feline, but he ignored them.

"Should we…" Tifa began to ask hesitantly. Her breath caught when he tore open the button up shirt she wore, scattering loosened buttons in all directions. Her voice didn't seem to stop his movements, and Tifa moaned slightly when he splayed kisses all over her bare chest and ran his hands down her neck, shoulders and arms as he did so. Rufus' heart raced as he explored her body uninhibited. It was fast and relentless, as if he would never see her again after that night.

He made his way down to the loose fitting elastic of his boxer shorts that she wore. He paused slightly and looked up at Tifa over the mounds of her large breasts. Her expression was hesitant but inviting. She was silent, and Rufus took his cue, he made his way up to her mouth again and shoved his hands into the elastic, gently feeling Tifa's warmth, feeling the soft petals. Tifa's elated state seemed to heighten as well as she eagerly wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her legs, letting Rufus ease his body on top of hers.

While he continued kissing her lips, Rufus' hand continued to tease her and he soon heard her soft moans escape her throat again. "Ru…" she whispered, turning her head to the side, letting him devour her neck. No one had called him by his shortened name in at least fifteen years. It sounded oddly affectionate. Rufus slid one finger inside of her and felt her quiver. Her legs trembled and she continued not to face him with tightly shut eyes. Never in all the time he had her here did he think she would be open to him this way. Of course he wished it, who wouldn't? But for her to choose him as well? It fueled his desire all the more.

"Tifa…" he whispered. "I like you too." He told her, remembering the words she spoke to him the night before. He never spoke that way to anyone. Not once. She smiled sweetly at his words. He clumsily tried to wrestle the boxers from her hips. Tifa helped him, having more control than he did. Once they were off, he leaned up and saw her beneath him, his button up shirt splayed and open under her and her entire body exposed. She was trembling, but her eyes were hooded and alluring. Quickly, he unzipped his pants and shoved them down, not bothering with the rest of his clothing, and plunged into her. Tifa seemed quite astonished by the sudden movement. In a one swift movement, her virginity was gone, and she felt the gentle, dull pain of him inside her, he was certain.

Tifa still didn't face him directly, but he saw her face ease up. He withdrew slightly then plunged into her again, making her moan once more at the sudden movement. He repeated this, hearing her back and his knees rake across the carpet. He gently placed his hands on her face and tilted it towards him. "Look at me," he said softly. She did, slowly opening her eyes to him as he thrust himself in her again and again. It was an otherworldly feeling. It was as if he was detached from the awful reality he was presented with and all that existed was him and the beautiful brunette that quietly chanted his name as she gripped the fabric on his back tightly. Her felt her legs wrap about him and held him close.

Rufus was lost in the feeling of how tight Tifa was. She was so quiet and virginal, Rufus felt all the more protective of her. As he drove himself repeatedly, he was distantly aware of Dark Nation, who was moving frantically behind the closed door, as if their copulating made her crazy. Rufus dove into her neck and the shoulders, biting her slightly, making his mark on her. He was so overcome with pleasure, he applied too much pressure, and he heard Tifa yelp. He withdrew his teeth immediately and saw the smallest trickle of blood. Tifa's expression was slightly scared, but Rufus dove in and licked it, savoring the taste.

"Ru…" Tifa continued to whisper, over and over again, as her pleas became more and more desperate. He felt his body become impossibly warm. Rufus felt himself tipping over the edge, but he didn't want this moment to end. But it did. He closed his eyes tight as his shuddered violently and felt himself spill inside of her while he and Tifa cried a loud cry. "New heir," Rufus thought with a hint of cynicism. The fading orgasm focused his view and he registered the two of them breathing heavily in the otherwise silent room. It was hard, fast and over too soon.

Rufus moved himself from atop her and lay beside her. What a sight this would've been with his pants down and an equally sweaty woman beside him with an ill-fitted button shirt open beneath her, hanging off her forearms. The two of them were out of breath and avoided eye contact. Strands of sweat-soaked clung to their cheeks and neck. Rufus thought that would be the end of it, but was equally stunned when Tifa reached for him, beaconing him to hold her. He obliged and inched himself into her embrace. He kissed her forehead gently and held her, refusing to let go. Rufus could've simply let himself sleep, right there on the floor, but he was not satiated yet. He leaned up, bringing Tifa with him. He lifted his pants up with one hand, and supported Tifa with the other. He led her to the bedroom and laid her down, just as he did that same day. When she was down on the covers, panting and blushing, Rufus removed the rest of his clothing, letting it plop on the floor and joined her on the soft mattress.


	7. Chapter 7

The entire room seemed so quiet despite the cold air being pumped into the room and the faint scratching noises of the feline trying desperately to escape. The room was dark save for the lamp in the other room trickling in. A naked Rufus lay beside Tifa, his arm draped over her as she lay on her back, the covers pulled up to her waist. The cold air felt nice on his sweat-covered body. He didn't notice it until the two of them lay down that he had been trembling from the exhilaration. He hadn't expected Tifa to reciprocate when he kissed her, honestly he was certain she would shove him off and that would be the end of it. But no, to his delight the two of them lost themselves in reckless passion and he claimed her as his and his alone. He would certainly miss this moment after the sun came up.

Tifa slowly tried to close up the shirt, as if suddenly embarrassed at being exposed. Rufus placed his hand atop hers and brought it to his lips. "You are beautiful, Tifa Lockhart," Rufus said softly. He saw Tifa's brow furrow as if she didn't know how to handle his words. She had gone through a myriad of emotions in just the past few hours and she looked emotionally exhausted.

"I…thank you," she responded breathily. "I never imagined we would end up like this."

"Are you happy we did?"

Tifa sighed. "I don't know…it feels like I shouldn't but I do."

Rufus was mildly hurt as he absentmindedly stroked her hair. "Why would you let me do those things to you if you weren't sure?"

She turned to face him. "I just never knew what it felt like to be wanted."

Rufus stopped his motions at her words. His eyes widened as hers did immediately after. There was a slight pause. Rufus leaned over to her and gently kissed her. He didn't force her head to his, and Tifa met him with similar tenderness. They slowly built up their momentum and Rufus felt himself get hard again. "I want you Tifa," Rufus sighed against her lips. "I've wanted you since I brought you here. Since you looked at me."

He could feel her smile against his lips as she wrapped her arms around him. Rufus let his hands wander again, brushing against her hardened nipples. He trailed kisses down her throat and took one his mouth. She ran her fingers through his hair as he did so, sighs and breathy pants escaping from her. He went down further, wanting to taste her, wanting to memorize every curve and fold before their inevitable parting.

Tifa tasted faintly of salt to Rufus, and then he realized the evidence of their previous coupling was still spilling out. It was incredibly attractive to him, knowing that the proof of their interaction was still inside of her. His tongue darted inside and out, earning involuntary spasms in Tifa's legs. She twisted and reeled, gripping the sheets on either side of her. Her steady breathing was deep and constant. She draped her legs atop his shoulders and opened herself more. "Don't stop, don't stop…." she chanted. Rufus increased his pace until Tifa's back arched and she let out long breath, slowly coming down after a few moments.

Rufus eagerly, but still slowly, crawled atop of her and entered her once more. This time, without his clothing, he could feel Tifa's skin against his. He could feel her on the outside and the inside. She was so warm and so quiet. Rufus was much slower with her this time. The urgency of their limited time together was forgotten in that moment and all he wanted to think about was this. Despite his deliberately slow pace, his release crept up on him and he exploded in ecstasy through clenched teeth. He felt Tifa tighten and release as well with a long breath. Completely breathless, and still blinded by a flash of white, he uttered, "Please stay with me, Tifa…." He went still then, not meaning to sound so desperate. Tifa didn't answer him. "Tifa?" he looked up and saw that her eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply, asleep from that last release.

Rufus sighed with relief and fell to her side. He was exhausted but he felt better than he had in months, possibly even years. He gently moved from atop of the bed and donned a soft bathrobe. He reached under his bed and pulled something out. He then stalked to the other room and made a phone call to a building employee. When they arrived at the apartment, he ordered them to take something down and bring it back up within the hour, leaving it on the table in the kitchen area and to not disturb him. They worker nodded in understanding, and Rufus went to release Dark Nation, who was slumbering quietly on the floor. He then went back to his room. It was just a little over three hours before midnight.

His time was running out on what to do with Tifa, but he didn't want to think of anything else at that moment. He joined her in bed and fell asleep for a couple of hours, holding the slumbering brunette close to him. He felt like he was in heaven. He awoke once more and turned on his PHS to check the time. It immediately stated to ring. He wondered who would dare call him in the middle of the night, especially when he instructed the workers that he would be busy preparing for his departure the next morning. He quickly pulled the small device from his suit on the floor and went to the living room to answer it so as to not disturb Tifa. "What?" he answered, not bothering to hide his irritation. His answer was met with heavy breathing and slight sobbing. "Hello?" Rufus said confused.

"S-sir…it's your fuh-father…" the voice responded.

"Palmer? What's going on? What about my father?"

"He's…he's dead!"

Rufus felt the color drain from his face. "What? What do you mean? How?"

"There's a large sword sticking out of him. Sephiroth….Sephiroth is back! Sephiroth killed your father!" Palmer's voice then reduced to nothing but a puddle of blubbering nonsense. Then he heard other voices in the background.

"Palmer. Palmer!" Rufus called in the PHS. "Who's there?"

"A-AVALANCHE! They're here!"

Rufus gripped the PHS tightly until his knuckles were white. "Palmer, stay hidden or get out of there if you can, I'll be there in a minute!" He hung up the phone. He had to act fast. His mind had already mentally prepared for his father's demise, no matter how sudden. He had to take the head chair soon. He dialed his Turks and ordered them to bring the helicopter around. He looked at the closed door behind which Tifa lay sleeping. He stalked there quickly and gently woke her up. "Tifa!" He nudged her. "Tifa wake up!"

She stirred, obviously agitated at her sudden shake up from her deep sleep. "Huh…what?" she asked.

"I don't know what's going on, but your friends are here."

Tifa shot up with wide eyes. "They are? For me?"

"I don't know," Rufus said truthfully. "I've also received word that Sephiroth is here."

Tifa's eyes went wide, now she was fully awake. "S-Sephiroth?"

"Yes." Rufus began to put on his white suit and pants. "I'm going to investigate. You best stay here in case he's still on the premises."

Tifa swung her legs off the bed and clutched the ruined shirt to cover he body. "Not a chance. If my friends are here and if Sephiroth is here, I need to be there with them. I'm coming with you."

"No Tifa, it could be dangerous." Rufus almost wanted to laugh. It was as if they were arguing like a married couple.

"Yes, for you as well. I'm going and you can't stop me."

Rufus pursed his lips and sighed. He knew she would probably take the chance and leave the apartment as soon as he left. "Very well. But you can't go dressed like that." Rufus left the room and went to retrieve the item left by the building employee. He returned and handed it to Tifa. "You'll need this." Tifa grasped her street clothes, neatly folded and wrapped in plastic wrap, freshly cleaned.

Tifa was surprised. She must have been so used to wearing Rufus' clothes this whole time. "My outfit! I don't know what to say…"

"Just say thank you." Rufus smirked at her. Gently Tifa did and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. "I have to go now. Be safe." Rufus kissed her forcefully and had tear himself away. He whistled for Dark Nation to come to him and retrieved his shotgun and ran out the door. He raced towards his father's office and instructed the Turks piloting the helicopter to meet him there in case he ran into trouble. When he finally made it to the top floor, he opted to enter the office from the balcony, hopefully trying to catch AVALANCHE unawares in case they were still there.

He stepped toward the large glass pane and could see his lifeless father with a large sword impaling him through the chest at his very desk. He smiled to himself, happy to see that one less problem in his life was eliminated. He saw Palmer approach him and the floating helicopter. He stopped in front of Rufus, panting, recounting everything he saw. "So, Sephiroth was actually here," Rufus said to him. Behind him he could see a familiar group of people approaching. "By the way," Palmer ran past him to the helicopter as Rufus spoke, "who are you?" He already knew who they were of course, but wanted to distract them long enough for the fat oaf to get on board.

The Ex-SOLDIER, research specimen, the Ancient and the former miner all introduced themselves. "What a crew," Rufus said dully. "I am Rufus, president of Shinra Inc." The title felt so good on his tongue.

"You're only president because your old man is dead!" Barrett Wallace bellowed.

"Correct, and now you'll hear my inauguration speech." Rufus relayed to the odd team how his father wanted to control the world with money and he planned to do it with fear.

"Fuck your plans!" shouted Cloud, interrupting him. "What did you do with Tifa? Where is she?"

"Oh now you want to know where she is?" Rufus thought. "She was with me the whole time. I spoke to her. I listened to her. I kissed her and I had sex with her twice. I felt her body against mine as she gave herself to me." Rufus wanted to say all of those things. He felt more fury towards the other blond man than anything else. If he cared about Tifa so much why was he only showing up now? Why did he go blow up more reactors and carry on as if she was dead? Cloud didn't care for Tifa the way Rufus did, and he wanted to throw it in his face. "I don't know where she is," was all that came from his mouth. As much as he hated the other man, he didn't want to besmirch Tifa's standing with her allies because the two felt a mutual attraction to one another.

"Liar! You have to know something! I've seen you on the news. You've been here for at least a week. You're not telling me something."

Rufus pursed his lips and tried to tap his anger. He bore a glare into the other man's mako-enhanced eyes. Dark Nation came up beside him then, growling at the other man, sensing her master's aggressiveness.

"Barrett, get Aerith out of here now," Cloud called behind him. "I'll take care of him."

After a small argument, Barrett obliged and he, the research specimen and Ancient all fled. Normally Rufus would've put up more of a fight since the animal and the Ancient were technically property of Shinra, but he didn't bother with it. All he wanted was to hear the ring of his shotgun as he pointed at the ex-SOLDIER's chest. He wanted to kill him, but he remembered Tifa's elation of hearing of his survival. So Rufus decided to engage the other man, but not to the death.

The two commenced a fight. And to Rufus' horror, Cloud took out his beloved pet with ease. With renewed anger, Rufus charged at the other man, dodging his sword and punching him in the face. The quick attack made the sword fall the floor with a resounding clanking sound. With both hands free, Cloud wrestled the Rufus shotgun out of his hands and flung it over the balcony. The two were then engaged in a drag out fist fight as the two exchanged blows.

In a flurry of punches, Rufus began to feel the damage done to him. His face hurt. His chest hurt. He managed to deck Cloud several times, but it was soon becoming clear that the unnatural enhancements of the ex-SOLDIER were too much for him. If he didn't get away from this fight, he knew he'd be done for. He managed to get to his feet and kick Cloud back to the ground. "That's enough for today," he spat. He ran for the helicopter and jumped on, grabbing the railing with one hand.

He managed to disappear from view as the helicopter floated in the other direction, over the gardens. His crew on the helicopter tried to pull him on board, but the blood on Rufus' hand made him lose his grip and he fell down into a bush beneath him, breaking his fall. "Sir!" he heard one of his Turks shout after him. He spurted up a small amount of blood and felt the pain throughout his entire body. He wondered if Cloud saw him where he fell. Not wanting another confrontation with him, especially when he had no means to defend himself anymore, he staggered through the back door and hid out in the stairwell, knowing his Turks saw him and would be following soon.

In the safety of the empty stairwell, he lay on the stairs, clutching his abdomen and feeling faint trickles of blood drip down from his forehead and his cheek. Cloud had really gotten him good. Rufus couldn't even remember much of the fight. He didn't want to remember this night as the night he lost a fight to Cloud Strife. He had other things on his mind now. Things would be different. He was the president now and with Sephiroth on the loose he knew what had to be done. He closed his eyes and was lost in his thoughts until he heard a door open upstairs. The sound of hesitant and light footsteps could be heard, echoing throughout the corridor.

They made their way downstairs and Rufus heard a feminine gasp. The footsteps became more urgent until she was by his side. Rufus opened his eyes, both of which were becoming swollen. He looked up and saw Tifa, donning her old clothes, standing over him. She knelt beside him and placed his head in her lap. "What happened? Did Sephiroth do this to you?" she asked.

Rufus laughed as much as his pained abdomen would allow him, feeling blood move between his teeth as he smiled. "No, your friend did," he responded.

Tifa looked pained, almost as if she wanted to cry. "They're here then?" she asked.

Rufus nodded. "They're looking for you. They're probably going to head down near the bottom floor. You should greet them." Rufus grimaced, the dull feeling of pain his chest starting to feel like a constant pressure on him.

"I can't leave you like this." She gently cupped his chin and looked over his injuries. "You're hurt."

Despite the pain, Rufus lifted up his bloodied hand to touch Tifa's cheek, mindful of the possibility of marking her. "I'll be okay. My men will be here to retrieve me and I'll be taken care of." Tifa didn't move. "Go!" he said more forcefully. "Go down to the lobby. You'll see some display vehicles there. The keys can be found under the passenger side mats. Use them to escape if you have to."

Tifa nodded in understanding. "Will we….see each other again?"

Rufus dropped his hands to his side and looked into her eyes. "Yes. I'll make sure of it."

Tifa smiled back, but she still held a melancholic expression. "But we'll be on different sides."

"Indeed. But we both have a job to do. Let's hope we don't meet before they are done. You must go now. Before your friends leave without you again."

Tifa looked as if she desperately tried to hold back tears. She bit her lip. "You're sure someone will be here to help you?"

"I promise." Rufus slowly propped himself up. "Wait, before you go." Rufus inched his way up to the landing before a new set of stair began. He reached into the corner and spotted the small white object he saw as he dashed up to his apartment before the plate fell. "Don't forget this," he handed it to Tifa.

"My earring!" she exclaimed. "How did you-"

"I'm sorry it took so long." Tifa smiled and put it on, making herself whole again since she was brought there. Rufus propped himself up against the wall and looked toward her. "Now go. We'll see each other again. I promise."

Tifa choked up slightly and nodded. She kissed his lips despite the blood. She went next to his ear and whispered, "I'll miss you." With that, she hastily got up and ran down the stairs, not looking back. Rufus sat there in silence, listening to her footsteps fade away until eventually he heard a door open and shut behind her. Left alone, he thought to himself. He knew the rumors about him. No one had ever seen him bleed or cry. As of now, Cloud and Tifa were the only people outside of the company that knew one of those things wasn't true. If Tifa had turned to look back before she left, even just once, she would be the only person on the planet to know that both of those things weren't true.


End file.
